Right, back to it. Tomorrow a new kind of class reopens. A virtual classroom. Many schools will be teaching students remotely. This means lots of parents are probably looking online for the right software for their kids to join class. Google Classroom is one of the most popular but what do you do if the only laptop in the house is your work laptop? Well, in what is somewhat ironic, you can actually load Google Classroom on Xbox and PlayStation. I say ironic because this means your kids will be learning by staring at their Xbox all day.
I Only Have One Laptop How To I Home School?
I’ve definitely been guilty of wondering why homeschooling hasn’t been an idea tabled a long long time ago during this pandemic. I say guilty because while it’s a great example of what tech can do, it assumes everyone has the technology at home. Of course, some families don’t have laptops or maybe those that do online have the one and that’s needed for work.
One great alternative is to look at what else you have that can access Google Classroom, or indeed Microsoft Teams if that’s the choice of your kid’s school. Games consoles usually have internet browsers and that’s what the bulk of this article is about. You’re not installing an app but instead loading the web-version of these platforms in a browser.
If you don’t have a games console lying around check what phone you have. If you have something like a Huawei P40 Pro, you can connect this to a TV with the right cables. Lots of phones like the P40 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S range support desktop mode which comes in really handy for things like this!
Using Google Classroom on Xbox
If you’ve got an Xbox in the house, here’s what you need to do to run Google Classroom. This will work for Xbox One, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X.
<li>Turn the Xbox on</li>
<li>Select My Games and Apps</li>
<li>Scroll to Apps</li>
<li>Open Microsoft Edge Browser</li>
<li>When this opens, type Google Classroom into the search box</li>
<li>Next, select Join Classroom</li>
<li>Log in using the student email address and password</li>
To make life easier, if you have them lying around, I’d recommend a wired USB controller and mouse to plug into the Xbox as well. Just like that, you’ve free’d up your work laptop and your kids can attend school on “the big telly”.
<li>Turn the PlayStation on</li>
<li>Scroll to the right and select Library</li>
<li>Here, search for Internet</li>
<li>Open Internet Browser</li>
<li>When this loads, press the triangle button to search</li>
<li>Type in Google Classroom</li>
<li>Next, select Join Classroom</li>
<li>Log in using the student email address and password</li>
Again, USB keyboard and mouse would be nice here.
If you’re struggling to find Google Classroom, here’s the URL you’re after: https://classroom.google.com/
I’ve been thinking about a few things lately. Mad things like, “imagine someone travelled from the past to today and saw some of our headlines”. Actually, it’s a bit like some of the Back to the Future movies if I’m honest. You could argue that some of the real headlines are too unrealistic for Hollywood. Another lands today as social media giant, Twitter, finally suspended Donald Trump from their platform.
Donald Trump Suspended From Twitter
Twitter has had a long history with Donald Trump. Today they suspended the United States president from the platform. The reason? Well, it’s obvious. Following the riots on Capitol Hill which were driven by the 45th US president, the social media platform has decided the likelihood of Trump instigating further violence is too great. Twitter has finally twigged that when you platform hate, it leads to violence.
Trump’s Temporary Ban
Immediately following the riots, Twitter handed Trump a 12 hour ban after removing his tweets which were deemed to be inviting violence.
A spokesperson from Twitter said that “after the Tweets were removed and the subsequent 12-hour period expired, access to @realDonaldTrump was restored”. They also said that “any future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account.”
Trump’s Permanent Suspension
Being honest, after this short suspension, Trump wasn’t anywhere near his worst on Twitter when he returned. His first returning tweet was:
“The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!”
This was followed by Trump throwing the last few toys out of the pram and saying he wouldn’t attend the inauguration of President Elect Joe Biden. However, regardless of their earlier statement, Twitter still moved on Friday and permanently suspended Trump from their platform.
The company said that “after close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence”. The social media platform continued to assert that “in the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action”.
This came as the platform started to apply broader interpretations to Trump’s tweets. For example, that because he would not be attending the inauguration it would be another great time for a riot. A long shot which makes me think.
Too Little Too Late?
While it’s welcome that Twitter and indeed Facebook have taken the steps to kick Trump off their platforms removing his direct line to followers, it’s far too little too late.
I remember writing about this a long time ago, asking a simple question. “Why is Trump allowed to say things which breach Twitter’s policies and others are not”. Twitter’s answer was that he’s simply of political and public value. I’d argue he’s of the least value of anyone on the platform but offering the most danger, meaning he should be held to a higher account than anyone else.
Tonight, Twitter has joined the ranks of the many Republicans who’s milked Donald Trump (sorry for the graphic image or Kopfkino) for all he’s worth. Now, with his reputation finally in ruins and facing potential removal from office, Republicans are distancing themselves from Trump. Twitter is no different.
For more than the past four years, Twitter has enjoyed more activity than ever. Interest being driven largely by Donald Trump have over 80 million followers at his fingertips. People keep Twitter and are on Twitter purely to see what Trump did today. Now that he’s leaving office, Twitter finally takes action.
Sorry, but we need to expect more from our tech companies. While Facebook sets the morality and standards bar pretty low, that doesn’t mean Twitter gets to play the high almighty card just because they’re better.
Regardless, the good news is that he’s gone from Twitter. The bad news is that he still has control over the POTUS Twitter account. I guess the reason is for how long and will he even see out the rest of his term. Considering his administration took on Chinese social media platform Tiktok, there’s a certain irony that a clock is currently ticking in Trump’s ears.
Isn’t that a boring headline. “Smart glasses that look normal” is perhaps the most underwhelming description of a cool product I’ve ever written. But it’s strangely positive. You may not be aware that a few years back, Google Glasses came on to the market but they bombed because, well they looked awful.
Huawei’s smart glasses and smart sunglasses take a style first approach to technology so they’ve overcome Google’s first mistake. Now, are they any good in general? I’ve been testing the Huawei Eyewear II Sunglasses for the past few weeks and here what I think.
Huawei Eyewear II: Gentle Monster – An Introduction
These sunglasses aren’t the only smart eyewear from Huawei, nor are they even the first generation. They are the first to find their way to Ireland as the Chinese tech giant tries to fill the gap in the market generated by the whole Android fiasco reducing the appeal of the still wonderful P40 Pro. Huawei is shifting focus from phones for world domination to the extra tech devices we’re quickly adopting in our lives with eyewear being one of these areas.
Huawei is adept when it comes to change. Just look at the remarkable FreeBuds Studio headphones they launched earlier this year. While they’ve had plenty of good headphones over the year launching such a good pair of over-ear headphones with their first attempt was pretty impressive. However, when it comes to eyewear, Huawei realised they were a little out of their depth. They also knew that the area of smart glasses is dangerous territory and that collaborating with another known brand would mitigate some of the risks. Enter Gentle Monster.
Who Is Gentle Monster?
I have a special place in my heart for South Korea. It’s where I proposed to my better half. Their food is easily my favourite food on the planet. Their shows and movies are awesome and surprisingly, their fashion not only fits my tastes but my body! Would you believe that I actually evaluated these new Huawei sunglasses fully before looking into Gentle Monster and learning they are a South Korean fashion brand!
Indeed, Gentle Monster is a South Korean eyewear brand founded in 2011 and today has stores globally. Their style is typically slightly oversized. This is to suit their home market as South Koreans generally like larger glasses which make the face appear smaller.
Huawei Gentle Monster Smart Lang Sunglasses
Features Of Huawei Sunglasses
To kick off this review, I want to give you an overview of what Huawei set out to achieve here. When you think smart glasses or smart sunglasses, your mind might wander to a pair of glasses with a camera built-in or something like Snapchat’s Spectacles. That’s not these. The way I would describe Huawei’s smart sunglasses is that they’re sunglasses first and smart second.
Gentle Monster Sunglasses
I’m a tech reviewer, not a fashion guy. I know what I like, but that’s about it. I do like these though and like I said, I liked them before I realised they were South Korean. Not only to they look good, but they’re comfy and block out the sun. There you have it, my professional opinion on the design of these glasses.
The frames are light but the hinges are firm and well built giving comfort.
Semi-joking aside they are really comfy to wear whether going for a wee jog, walking, cycling, scooting or driving. The cycling one is interesting considering some of the tech I’ll go into later.
All this comfort comes from the glasses being light but secure on your head. You can tell this isn’t Huawei just slapping together a pair of sunglasses. Instead, it’s a nice pair of Gentle Monster-led designed glasses which Huawei has fit tech into. All that tech comes with an IP54 rating too so you’re ok to get caught in the rain, but don’t go swimming with them.
Speakers
First of the tech on-board let’s look at the speakers. I mentioned about using sunglasses for cycling. The reason I think this is interesting is safety. The Huawei Eyewear II Smart Lang Sunglasses let you listen to music or take calls on the go without blocking out the surrounding sounds. You’ll have a similar music listening experience to being in a car for example, with a mix of ambient noise and the music you pick.
What surprised me, and initially made me uncomfortable was how clear the speakers were when out and about. For example, when on a call, it’s so clear that you feel the people around you must be able to hear. However, that’s not the case. I tested music and calls to my Mam with my better half nearby and she couldn’t hear anything. Now, if you were to sit close to someone in a library, it might be a different story but generally speaking, the sound is good and the calls are private.
If the noise levels in your surroundings get above average the clarity will suffer. During rush hour traffic, I was unable to clearly hear someone speaking to me on a call and had to swap over to using my phone instead. This was more related to me being able to hear them than them not being able to hear me.
Touch Controls
Built into the frames is all the tech bits, including touch controls. These are on both temples of the glasses and let you control volume up and down, skip tracks and activate your voice assistant. I tested this with the Google Pixel 5 and Google Assistant worked perfectly. I also gave this a run with my iPad and Siri kicked in no bother.
The red line indicates touch areas
There’s supposed to be a pinch sensor in the left temple. This is for pairing and can be customised. I couldn’t get this to work and found pairing with the glasses in the case much easier and reliable.
Microphones
Bringing me nicely onto the microphone setup. As being able to take calls on these sunglasses is a big feature, what’s the call quality like? This is an area Huawei places a massive emphasis on. My preferred buds for meetings and calls today remains the FreeBuds 3, purely for comfort and call quality. The Huawei Eyewear II sunglasses are great for calls in quiet or moderately noisy areas.
The one thing to note is that people will likely think you look a bit odd talking to yourself and the technology in your sunglasses is not very apparent.
As I mentioned, in noisy areas calls are harder. The sunglasses don’t pick up too much noise but instead the problem is more the surrounding noise will drown out the built-in speakers.
Battery And Case
This section is truly a tale of two halves.
Battery Life
First of all, the battery life never disappointed me. You get pretty close to the 5 hours of music playback which is mighty given there are not many places to fit a battery into glasses. That said, there’s more space than a pair of earbuds of course. One advantage here is pretty logical. When the glasses die, they’re still sunglasses. It’s not like a dead battery removes the tint or you won’t suddenly be able to take calls on your phone.
The Charging Case
We do now arrive at the second half of the power story; the case. The case is where you charge your glasses. It’s pretty big. My first reaction wasn’t negative as I assumed the size meant there was a built-in battery for recharging when out and about. I was mistaken. This case is purely for charging when plugged in. If it’s not plugged into the wall, this case is nothing more than a big box for your glasses.
I was flabbergasted by this. The natural comparison here is the Snapchat Spectacles and its own case which gives you four additional charges on the fly. I just don’t get how power couldn’t have been fit into this glasses case. I’ll admit the case is really too big for me to carry around with me anyway, but I could imagine plenty of people with backpacks or handbags who would be glad of a small battery refresh on the go.
The charging case works well but lack of built-in battery is odd.
Once in the case and plugged in, the glasses take about 30 minutes or so to get to 90% charge and ten minutes more to go all the way.
One final note of oddity on the glasses here. You can’t turn them off. There’s no button for that. The only way to turn them off is to return them to the case and get them fully charged. Then they’ll turn off. Bizzare given I likely won’t bring the case with me given it doesn’t have power and is bulky.
Huawei Eyewear II Sunglasses: The Verdict
This is a tough verdict to settle on. I’ll start by saying I love these sunglasses. I’ve been thinking about going down the Ray-Ban route for some time and really investing in a good pair of sunnies. These landed on my desk at the real right time. They’re exactly the kind of style I was after and the integrated tech is the sprinkling on top. They’re awesome and I love them.
I love the tech side of the glasses, but like – it’s not perfect. The audio quality for music and calls is great until you get into a noisy and busy city. You still need to carry headphones or earbuds unless you want to wear your sunglasses inside in a darker room and look silly while listening to Spotify – admittedly, a problem just for the sunglasses and not the regular smart glasses.
A sunny stroll along the canal in Dublin’s Portobello.
But I love these glasses mainly because they’re a nice pair of sunglasses, not for the tech. And here’s where people will struggle to justify the Huawei Eyewear II Sunglasses. At €299 from Vodafone for a slightly different style to the one I’ve reviewed, these are a spicy pair of sunglasses. My mindset before these classes was a willingness to pay up to €150 for a pair of Ray-Bans. Does the tech add enough value? That’s up to you.
I will repeat that I love the style of these glasses and the fact they both stuff in technology and are a collaboration with a South Korean company, adds some additional happiness for me!
Huawei Eyewear II glasses with Gentle Monster are available in selected Vodafone stores and Vodafone online.
If you’ve found yourself scrolling through Netflix, watching trailer after trailer and adding stuff to ‘My List’ but never actually settling on something to watch until it’s way too late to start it, we’ve got some good news.
It turns out that there’s a way to help you narrow down the selection, and help you find your next watch a lot quicker. Because the streaming service has a number of secret genres — and they’re actually pretty easy to find.
All you have to do to access the hidden categories is take this URL http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/ and find a genre that you fancy watching below. These aren’t all of them — you can find the secret codes to find all the festive films and TV shows here — but there is a lot to pick from, so it’s pretty much a certainty that you’ll find something you like.
The Secret Netflix Genre Codes
Here are the secret Netflix codes to unlock all of the hidden genres.
The nights feel like they’re getting colder and colder and, really, the temptation to stay in and watch the latest additions to Netflix is all too real.
Thankfully, it’s that time once again: the one where the streaming service reveal what movies and TV shows are coming in the weeks ahead. And there’s plenty of binge-worthy offerings this year.
From highly-anticipated new seasons of epic TV shows to films surrounded by Oscar buzz, here are some of the best additions coming to Netflix in January.
Cobra Kai: Season 3
When? January 1, 2021.
Cobra Kai takes place over 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament with the continuation of the inescapable conflict between Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence. Season three finds everyone reeling in the aftermath of the violent high school brawl between their dojos, which has left Miguel in a precarious condition.
While Daniel searches for answers in his past and Johnny seeks redemption, Kreese further manipulates his vulnerable students with his own vision of dominance. The soul of the Valley is at stake, and the fate of every student and sensei hangs in the balance.
Pieces of a Woman
When? January 7, 2021.
When a young mother’s home birth ends in unfathomable tragedy, she begins a year-long odyssey of mourning that fractures relationships with loved ones in this deeply personal story of a woman learning to live alongside her loss.
Snowpiercer: Season 2
When? January 26, 2021.
In season two of Snowpiercer, an entirely new power struggle emerges, causing a dangerous rift as people are divided between their loyalty to Layton and to Mr Wilford, who has a new train, new technology and a game plan that keeps everyone guessing.
While Layton battles Wilford for the soul of Snowpiercer, Melanie leads the charge on a shocking new discovery that could change the fate of humanity.
Lupin
When? January 8, 2021.
Inspired by the adventures of Arsène Lupin, gentleman thief Assane Diop sets out to avenge his father for an injustice inflicted by a wealthy family. Starring Omar Sy, well known for his role in the brilliant The Intouchables which was remade into The Upside.
The Dig
When? January 29, 2021.
When a wealthy widow hires an amateur archaeologist to excavate burial mounds on her estate, they uncover history-changing treasure.
The White Tiger
When? January 22, 2021.
The ambitious driver for a rich Indian family uses his wit and cunning to escape from poverty and become an entrepreneur. Based on the bestselling novel.
I don’t hide that I’m a fan of Revolut. The online-only bank has taken aim at poor experiences offered by “traditional” banks and built their whole experience around simply being better. Now, Revolut is launching some revamped premium plans including the new Revolut Plus and personally, I think it’s great news for retailers, specifically online retailers and consumers.
Online Shopping In Ireland
Retailers frustrate me. Broadly speaking, I mean shops who happen to have websites. Many of the experiences offered in Ireland are rather poor with a few exceptions. The result is rather unsurprising. People in Ireland do indeed spend their money online, but they just don’t spend it in Ireland.
Revolut recently released figures for Black Friday in Ireland which show sales were up in 2020 versus 2019. On the surface this is good news however, dig a little deeper and it’s a tale of miss opportunity for Irish businesses. Spending is indeed up, but Irish shoppers are spending far more on international websites than they do on Irish websites.
There is a willingness to buy once you get your experience right, but Irish retailers generally aren’t doing this. From the actually shopping experience itself to terrible delivery and returns processes, consumers simply don’t have the confidence to shop with Irish retailers like they do the international competition.
Revolut themselves will play a part here by growing consumer confidence in general buying but specifically online. Felix Jamestin, Head of Premium Product at Revolut, expects the new Revolut plan introduced today “should give a big boost to our customers’ confidence”.
Revolut And Online Shopping
I’ve been using Revolut a lot while shopping online. I use disposable or virtual cards for trials to ensure I don’t forget and pay when providing card details is mandatory. My favourite thing in the world is using Revolut on websites like ASOS or Amazon.co.uk to save a small fortune by avoiding their awful Sterling to Euro exchange rates by using the Revolut interbank exchange rate. I’m not exaggerating either, you save loads of money by doing this.
Ultimately, Revolut has greased the wheels of online shopping by offering things your “local” bank could only dream of.
And now, they’re doing it again.
Revolut Plus: Peace Of Mind Shopping
Revolut is tweaking their premium subscription plans and adding a very interesting €2.99 option. Basically, for €3 per month 1.2 million Irish customers can now buy peace of mind for all purchases made while paying with Revolut. Here’s what that means.
Damage And Theft Cover
Revolut Plus customers have their purchases covered for up to €1000 for a 12 months. This means if you were to buy a new phone with your Revolut card and it’s stolen or broken, you can claim for the loss through the digital-first bank.
Revolut Premium customers are protected up to €2500, and Metal customers get cover up to €10,000.
Enhanced 90-Day Returns Window
When you shop online, you’ve usually got yourself some decent rights like distance selling. However, not all retailers are nice to deal with and some will even argue with you over your basic rights. For me, how a retailer handles refunds is the biggest measure of their organisation and a poor experience here will result in me never dealing with them again.
Rather than wait for retailers to get their acts together and become more consumer centric, Revolut is adding new layers of returns protection for Plus customers. For items you’ve bought between €50 and €300, Revolut will refund you if the shop you bought from refuses to take the goods back. You can do this up to 90-days after your purchase.
Concert Ticket Protection
I had this weird moment the other day where I was asked what I was looking forward to in 2021. The answer was “all the gigs I’d hoped to go to in 2020!”. Rammstein, Lewis Capaldi, The Book of Mormon and more are all gigs I was going to in 2020 that have been moved to next year. I feared lots of things with these gigs. What if I can’t make the new date? What if I have some symptoms and can’t make it or if something very normal just comes up on the day and I can’t go.
Buying tickets to a gig can actually be rather stressful. If I can’t go, I have to see my tickets. That’s a pain. A while back, I remember an Ed Sheeran gig where reselling of tickets was banned to stop ticket touts, but the impact on genuine people being unable to go for genuine reasons was crappy too.
Revolut Plus customers will now be able to claim a refund up to €1000 when something outside of your control stands in the way of you attending a gig or event.
Revolut Junior For Plus Customers
If you’re less Rammstein and more Disney On Ice, there’s more good news for you too. Revolut Plus customers can add two Revolut Junior accounts.
More generally, as a Plus customer you also get priority customer support through the Revolut app.
Compare Revolut Plans
Revolut now offers four plans in total. Here’s a comparison what you get (and don’t get) with each.
Lads. What the hell. I’ve described the end of 2020 as being like that series you’re watching building up to a season finale cliffhanger. But, when will the crescendo peak? Obviously, “new strain of COVID-19” and “Ireland closing border to the UK” are top of the list in terms of dramatics, but DHL suspending deliveries surely is right up there. It’s like the Trump presidency. Things got so crazy that the craziest things in the world seem a little bit normal. Regardless, that’s happening. One of the world’s biggest delivery companies, DHL, is suspending a large proportion of deliveries to Ireland and the UK.
DHL Has Suspended UK Landbridge Deliveries To Ireland
The contexts is simple, I think. Owing to a quickly evolving situation in the UK as a result of a quickly evolving virus, the UK as a logistical thoroughfare is, to say the least, problematic. It’s not even just about people travelling any more, it’s about online orders and retail supply chains now being impacted too with that impact going far beyond virtual UK addresses being suspended.
Citing the French government closing the Channel Tunnel and ferry ports, DHL has suspended deliveries to the UK and Ireland. In a statement, the company said packages currently en-route would be returned to sender. The issue seems to be the drivers’ inability to come back from the UK, not getting into the UK.
It appears that this applies only to packages using the UK as a landbridge and does not impact air deliveries. The company states that “Air Express product, Time Definite International (TDI), is available as currently despite the limitations placed on passenger aircraft, there are no impacts on cargo flights. This will be subject to continuous review, as the situation is fluid and authorities might impose tougher restrictions”.
There are lots of unanswered questions right now.
However, this is little consolation if you’re waiting on delivery before Christmas given it’s unlikely you know how it’s being delivered.
How To Tell If DHL Is Shipping By Air Or Landbridge
I’ve tried to find out how you can tell if your package is coming by air or landbridge, but have yet to find out if that’s possible. I’ll update this article as soon as DHL come back to me. We also don’t know if this impacts packages already in the UK.
DHL suspending deliveries from Europe to Ireland and UK.
It’s nearly impossible to know. If you can see that it’s being delivered by air, you might be OK.
Will DHL still deliver my package?
If it’s coming by air, maybe. However, if it’s definitely coming by landbridge it will be returned to sender and not stored before eventually delivering. DHL doesn’t have capacity for this.
When will DHL deliveries recommence?
The delivery company has not given an answer for this. Everything right now is until further notice.
How do I know if my package is being delivered by landbridge?
Unfortunately, I don’t think you can find this out. However, we’ve asked DHL and will update this article as soon as possible.
It’s that time of year again. The time when many of us wake up on a cold December morning to the sight of the latest iPhone under the tree. Or maybe a new telly for your man-cave from the Mrs.? Some of us may even be lucky enough to get an Xbox Series or PlayStation 5 if our loved ones were tenacious enough! But this brings up a common question; what do I do with my old technology? If there’s nothing wrong with your old units it seems like a bit of a waste to bring them to the recycling centre doesn’t it?
I think we can all agree that this year has been an absolute write-off for a lot of things. Holidays have been cancelled, weddings have been postponed and even a trip to the pub has been turned into some mythical memory of times long gone. We all need someone to give us a mood boost these days and if you’ve got something to give, why not give someone else that boost? There are dozens of charities, businesses and health-centres that are always elated to see someone offering to help out with old consoles, TVs or mobiles. Here’s a quick rundown of where we think your tech would do the most good this Christmas Season (bear in mind there will be some overlap on the kinds of tech that these charities will accept so it’s always worth checking if you’re able to give extra!).
NOTE: We would also strongly recommend checking with each of these charities as to whether they are taking physical donations at the moment due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
What To Do With Old Phones
With nearly one active smartphone for every two people in the world, it will come as no surprise to anyone that there is an enormous number of old phones thrown away every year. In fact, according to some estimates, there are 4.9 million unused (but still functional) mobile phones in Ireland. Whether these are in attics, lost, or squirrelled away in a man drawer, they each have the potential to do some good and get a new lease on life.
Saoirse Foundation
The Saoirse Foundation are a multi-arm foundation that focus primarily on genetic and rare disorders that affect children. They are the body that oversee Bee for Battens (focussed on Battens Disease), Liam’s Lodge (a state-of-the-art retreat centre for families with children affected by rare disorders) and the Bumbleance (an ambulance designed specifically for kids). These charities can use old mobile phones for a number of different purposes, either for staff or families availing of their services, as networking equipment or they may even sell them or their parts if they’re not of any immediate use.
Autism.ie and AsIAm
Two autism charities that regularly run mobile phone appeals. Autism.ie focuses on raising funds for research into autism and autism spectrum disorders while AsIAm focus more on raising awareness about neurodiversity and autism advocacy. Similar to the Saoirse foundation, they primarily use mobile phone donations for staff or networking but will occasionally sell them on or recycle them to raise much needed funds.
What To Do With Old Laptops And Computers
While tablets and smartphones are the way to go for many in terms of on the go computing, the humble laptop is still the gold standard for many (not to mention the desktop for us gamers). Where will your multi-function workhorse do the most good so it doesn’t get put out to pasture too soon?
Camara Education
Camara Education are an organisation that aim to deliver second hand or refurbished computers to students or teachers that otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford them. They also assist educators and students alike in becoming more computer literate as well as encouraging teachers to embrace new ways of teaching using tech (a skillset that became more important than ever this year during the pandemic). Originally established to enable schools in Africa to provide a more digitally enabled education to over 3 million students, Camara now also operate 5 digital learning hubs in Ethiopia as well as one in Ireland that are dedicated office space for other not for profit enterprises.
Any hardware they receive will either be wiped and donated to schools directly, or it will be resold with 100% of the cost going to one of Camara’s programs.
What To Do With Consoles And Old TVs
These are by far the trickiest to donate as a lot of charities won’t take larger electrical equipment second hand. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t places where an old telly or your PS4 will be appreciated.
Schools
I’m sure we all remember the joy of seeing an old CRT with a video player being wheeled into our classroom when we were younger. Well, the days of the CRT (or big telly) are long gone and with TV prices on the rise schools are relying more and more on donations of old video tech to show certain materials to students. As I said, some organisations have a policy against taking some equipment (like TVs) second hand so your mileage may vary, but if you’ve got an old screen going spare this one is always worth a try.
Hospitals and Care Facilities
Hospitals and nursing homes have played an absolute blinder this year. Nobody can deny that. From working tirelessly to provide care to patients with all manner of “everyday” illnesses to fighting the worst pandemic that we’ve seen in over a century. Our healthcare workers deserve our utmost respect, admiration and appreciation. Unfortunately, though, they don’t always have enough funding to provide everyday comforts to residents (long or short term).
This is where you can make a difference. Whether it’s a new TV in a ward or common area, or a new Xbox or even new games in Temple Street these donations are always appreciated. I myself have been sure to donate my old consoles to a local children’s care facility and will be doing the same with my PS4 once I have it loaded up with all my PS+ games.
Do What You Can This Christmas
So, there you go. Hopefully, this has provided you with a little inspiration as to where you may be able to bring a little bit of light to someone this year. It is important to note that if you personally know someone who is struggling or a local organisation I’ve missed that could really do with a bit of extra tech, by all means, help them out. Charity isn’t only for charities; charity is simply an act of giving and it’s one that the people of Ireland excel at.
Brexit is about to get very real for online shoppers. Despite COVID-19 pushing many people online, recent data from Revolut showed that Irish shoppers still spent most of their money with non-Irish websites. Just 43% of Black Friday shopping was with Irish websites while average spends abroad were significantly greater too. There’s a good chance that a fair chunk of change was spent with Amazon UK but because of Brexit, Amazon UK is about to start struggling in Ireland.
Virtual UK Addresses Shutting Down
For a long time I’ve used Virtual UK addresses. Companies like Parcel Motel, DPD and even An Post all offered you an option of routing your online orders from the UK to a UK address. They would then deliver to your Irish address for a small fee. It was a nice cottage industry while it lasted. There was savings to be add too on some Amazon Prime orders while other items were completely unavailable unless you opted for a virtual UK address. But now, because of Brexit that’s all changing.
Impact Of Brexit On Virtual UK Addresses
As a direct result of Brexit, courier companies offering virtual UK addresses are now ceasing the service or temporarily suspending them. The reason being that Brexit introduces new customs clearance requirements for items being delivered to Ireland from the UK.
Whether or not this is permanent remains to be seen, but here’s what each individual company has said.
Parcel Wizard by DPD
Status: Finished
Parcel Wizard was my favourite of these services. The main reason for that simply being that DPD are reliable and that the courier came to my door instead of my having to go to a locker like Parcel Motel.
That’s why I’m gutted to say they are finishing up completely. In an email to customers, Parcel Wizard states “we will no longer be offering out Virtual Address Service from December 11th 2020. This is due to customs clearance requirements for parcels travelling into the Republic of Ireland from Great Britain which will come into effect post Brexit”.
Isn’t it mad that the term “Brexit” has actually become common parlance.
Anyway, DPD asks customers to ensure they update their delivery calendars and address books to remove reference to their virtual UK address. Also, any unused balance in your Virtual Address account will be refunded before the end of January.
Parcel Motel by Nightline
Status: Suspended
Parcel Motel, the long-standing favourite of many to offer a virtual UK address, has also confirmed that as a result of Brexit they’ll be suspending their virtual UK address service. From December 28th, the virtual address services in the UK will be temporarily suspended and Parcel Motel will no longer accept deliveries at 1a McKinney Road, Newtownabbey, UK.
Return shipments to the UK will only be accepted until December 30th.
Parcel Connect by Fastway
Status: Suspended
Fastway Couriers offer a similar service to DPD. Today, they emailed customers outlining that“effective Friday 18th December 2020, and until further notice, Fastway Couriers will temporarily suspend the UK Virtual Address service from Parcel Connect. This is due to custom clearance requirements for parcels being imported into the Republic of Ireland from Great Britain, post-Brexit”.
They recommend customers cease using the service completely right now due to shipping times often being delayed around Christmas.
The glimmer of hope they offer is that they plan on “reactivating the Parcel Connect UK Virtual Address service in the New Year”.
AddressPal by An Post
Status: Changing
An Post have an interesting update too. From January 1st 2021, you can still use their virtual UK shipping address. They’ll still re-route your packages but you need to check that you’re using the correct address in your AddressPal account. The Post Office or Collection Point address will not longer work.
They do add that all UK items will be subject to Revenue customs from January 1st too and that they’ll be in touch to process additional payments as required. Sound fun doesn’t it.
Can I Still Shop On Amazon.co.uk From January?
Amazon has also contacted customers who have ordered from Amazon.co.uk to European delivery addresses to let them know they have some bad news. In an email to myself, the e-commerce giant said “as you have placed an order on Amazon.co.uk and selected an EU delivery address in the past, we wanted to let you know that from 1 January 2021, when the Brexit transition period ends, you’ll see some changes when you shop on Amazon.co.uk and select an EU delivery address”. These changes will include things like VAT, how you may be contacted to collect VAT after your purchase.
Rather significantly, Amazon is also changing how they handle returns which is a massive dent to the shopping experience.
Amazon says they “will continue to accept eligible returns. If the reason for return is the result of an error (e.g. if the item is defective / damaged / incorrect), any costs incurred for the return will be paid by Amazon. Otherwise, any costs incurred for the return (including transport costs, as well as any associated import fees or customs where applicable) will be payable by the person returning the goods”.
This massively reduces the likelihood of me shopping with Amazon to be honest and now, some good news.
The Opportunity For Irish Businesses
So, to use a business term, let’s close the loop.
I started out by saying off the back of Black Friday this year, or Green Friday if you like *shudder* Irish shoppers spent more money abroad. I can’t be sure, but I’d wager a lot of that was in the UK and not with Amazon.de. Why? Well, very simple. People like to buy things like electronics and German websites will send EU plugs. This is just one example of why the UK has been our biggest online market to compete with.
This is the opportunity for Irish businesses to make up for years of online neglect and invest in online shopping experiences. Brexit and COVID-19 is the perfect storm for Irish businesses to shift towards online selling and filling the gap left by Amazon UK not being so appealing. Failing to do so quickly will result is a massive missed opportunity.
Where Is Amazon.ie?
And this is why. Many are wondering if Amazon.ie is going to be a thing. Well, technically, it already is. If you visit Amazon.ie you get directed to the UK website. But will they offer an Irish website to buy products from Amazon? It remains unclear but you’d think likely. Amazon has offices here, customer care here and recently opened a distribution centre here too and started delivering packages with Zeus.
However, there’s been no announcement yet so this means there’ll likely be a window of opportunity for Irish businesses to show the marketplace won’t just be Amazon first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Virtual UK Addresses for Ireland impacted by Brexit?
Yes. Parcel Wizard has shut down, Parcel Connect is suspended and AddressPal has also changed. Parcel Motel has yet to confirm impacts but it’s imagined there’ll be something.
Can I still order on Amazon.co.uk to Ireland after Brexit in January?
Yes. You can still order. However, you may have to pay customs on what you order and you’ll be liable for returns fees too in a lot of cases.
Can I shop with Amazon Germany?
Yes. You can shop with all Amazon websites including Germany. However, remember that when buying from European Amazon websites you’ll likely buy electronics with EU plugs, not Irish plugs.
Will there be extra charges for shopping with UK websites after Brexit?
Yes. You’ll have to pay additional customs charges.
This is turning into a truly remarkable story at this stage. I genuinely feel for the developers to be honest. Sony has released a statement this morning not only confirming customers could get refunds if they bought Cyberpunk 2077 but they’ve removed it from the PlayStation Store.
What’s Going On With Cyberpunk 2077?
I’m glad I didn’t get caught up in the but long wait for Cyberpunk 2077. I really only got excited in the weeks building up to it. The game promised to tick a lot of boxes for me to be honest. It was a somewhat dystopian game with a massive open map. It would bring together some of my favourite pieces of entertainment. Bits of Blade Runner crossed with GTA and Fallout. Naturally, as soon as it was released I bought it on my Xbox One. Within an hour, I was looking for a refund, which I got.
The game was due to be released earlier this year but development setbacks meant several delays and missed dates. It looks like the developer, CD Projekt Red, decided that no matter what happened, they wouldn’t close out 2020 without launching this game. A massive mistake if that’s the case. To be fair to the developer, and probably why I’m feeling sorry for them, they’ve held their hands up and offered to help customers getting refunds.
It’s been a disaster for the developers and customers from the wait to premature launch. It’s even reminded one Twitter user of the famous Fyre Festival, an unfortunately fitting comparison and benchmark no-one wants to be measured against.
Sony Removes Cyberpunk 2077 From PlayStation Store
Which brings us to today and perhaps the most shocking moment in this whole story. Sony Interactive Entertainment has today pulled Cyberpunk 2077 from their PlayStation store. You can not buy Cyberpunk 2077 on the PlayStation Store for te foreseeable future.
In a statement, the company said they “[strive] to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction” and “will begin to offer a full refund for all gamers who have purchased Cyberpunk 2077 via PlayStation Store”.
No similar decision has been made by Microsoft for Xbox yet. Xbox is in a stickier situation however has the game advertising featured a lot of focus on Xbox. This might have made Sony’s decision easier and Microsoft’s a lot harder.
What Does This Mean For Cyberpunk 2077 In General?
It’s not a death-nail in a coffin. As horrible as all of this is, 2077 might just survive because of how battle-hardened we’ve all become in 2020! To be fair, we do need to remember this is just a game where the developers succumbed to either business or public pressure to launch. Bugs can be patched and the game will return to the PlayStation Store as good as it can be.
The only big problem I foresee is beyond the bugs. The game itself, or at least its story mode, felt stiff and uninteresting. The dialogue scripts were dull and poorly acted. I’m just not sure that the game can recover from the bad press purely because I’m still not convinced at its core that it’s a good game.
