Author Archive: Gareth

Seasoned tech blogger. Host of the Tech Addicts podcast.

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By July 22, 2014 Read More →

NVIDIA Shield Tablet leaked online

nvidia-shield-tablet-leaked-picThere have been many rumours of a NVIDIA Android gaming console over the last few weeks. We don’t have anything new to report on that front, but we do have a solid leak regarding NVIDIA’s upcoming gaming Android tablet from one of the most reliable sources, out pal @evleaks. 

The NVIDIA Shield Tablet could be one of the most interesting things to happen to Android gaming. In fact, it’s entirely possible there won’t necessarily be an Android gaming console from NVIDIA because, with the proper input/outputs, this could easily become a portable gaming console. We do know that this device is supposed to come with the NVIDIA Tegra K1 SoC or if the newly leaked NVIDIA gaming controller is meant to pair with this device, a likely situation however. 

Either way, Android gaming is only just now evolving to reach a more mainstream gaming audience. This device could be a big step in that direction.

nvidia-shield-tablet-leaked-pic

Posted in: News, Tablets
By July 22, 2014 Read More →

Energy Challenge Day 1 – The Set Up

Energy Day 1Gareth shows how and where he has installed the energy monitors for the Moneysupermarket.com challenge. From the insertion of the monitor on the live feed to the monitor on the kettle’s plug, Gareth’s dusty setup covers some of the most used item’s around the house. Don’t feed the giraffes.

 

 

Posted in: Energy Challenge, Videos/Unboxings
By July 20, 2014 Read More →

The Energy Challenge Unboxing

Image2Gareth has unboxed an efergy Elite Classic Energy Monitor Set for a challenge set by Moneysupermarket.com. Over the next month Gareth will be monitoring this electricity consumption and attempting to make a saving by comparing his results online.

In this video Gareth opens up the Elite Classic 3.0 In-Home Energy Monitor and one of two EMS 2.0 In-Home Energy Monitors. With these devices Gareth hopes to get a handle on his energy consumption, and perhaps identify a better tariff. To compliment the challenge we will be linking to content with some tips for consumers on the MoneySuperMarket.com website.

Energy comsumption is something that is always at the back of our minds. We hear stories of how leaving your TV on standby contributes a little extra to your energy bill over the course of the month. I am just a guilty as the next man for thinking that it cannot be that much and the hassle of actually turning it off at the wall is more than worth the cost. When Moneysupermarket.com contacted me with the opportunity of actually seeing the impact these little indecresions had on my electricity bill I had to admit it might be time well spent.

An important factor is that I do not come under the standard “Big Six” on the mainland. England has a dizzying variety of energy providers and all I hear is horror stories of tariffs, confusion and contracts. Here is cosy Northern Ireland we have the “Big Two,” Power NI and Airtricity. At the moment I believe these companies offer only one tariff each and what you see is what you get. Over the next month I will investigate the options, tariffs and prices available and when the results of the study are revealed I may be asking some very simple questions to those companies about the findings.

Posted in: Editorial, Energy Challenge, Videos/Unboxings
By July 20, 2014 Read More →

Amazon Fire Glass on the horizon?

VfFsy8u_Over the weekend, Google’s Babak Parviz let slip  that he is no longer with the search engine giant, he posted image is Amazon’s logo, and the accompanying message reads “status: super excited!” Further investigation sees on his profile section, Parviz confirms the move to Amazon.

“Having worked at companies ranging from tiny start-ups to huge corporations and universities in Europe and the US, I have found each one to be fun in its own unique way,” he writes. “I founded and led a few efforts at Google (among them, Google Glass and Google Contact daily lenses are public so far 🙂 prior to moving to Amazon and work on a few other things now…”

Parviz pioneered the development of Google Glass way back when it was Project X. He has also been involved in Google’s “smart” contact lenses. Currently, there are no clues as to what he will be doing at Amazon. However, he is likely to participate in the Augmented Reality (AR) market. Based on Parviz’s track record and Amazon’s push into new hardware, one can only speculate what Parviz will be working on. Augmented Reality specs is likely on Amazon’s menu, allowing wearers to scan a product in a shop, pull up Amazon’s price, and place an order right there on the spot.

Posted in: Gadgets, Rumours
By July 17, 2014 Read More →

Google Now jetson update. No I said Google Now gets an update

ok-google-searchGoogle Now is easily the most responsive voice activated software on the planet, however is certainly isn’t flawless. There is still has some learning to do before it can evolve to a higher level of intelligence and require the execution of some called Sarah Connor. As of right now, on the rare occasions when it doesn’t quite get a command right, Google’s engineers have given it a new feature which allows the feature another chance to do better.

Now, Google Now lets you say “No, I said… ” to try again. You simply need to restate what you were trying to do or search for after saying that “No, I said… ” line. This word correction feature isn’t the only new trick taught to this not-so-old dog. Google Now also lets you control your media with your voice. For example, you can now say “Ok Google, next song” to skip to the next track in your music player. Alternatively, you can say “Ok Google, pause song” to pause playback. Google Now can also create event cards for your calendar directly from your gmail emails. On top of this it can now better manage call reminders and let you know when to get off your train or bus.

Posted in: Apps & Games, News
By July 16, 2014 Read More →

There are three L’s in this Ballloon

livelongandprosperBallloon is a simple Chrome extension that helps users save pics, pdf files and other web files directly to cloud storages(Dropbox or Google Drive for the moment). With this extension, users don’t need to download their files from Internet first, then upload them back to Internet again. This certainly increases productivity. See how such a simple addition to your Chrome browser can make things an awful lot easier. Take for example, on a Chomebook, Google Drive is a very big aspect and Dropbox hardly gets a look in. Ballloon does not discriminate and makes the Dropbox integration much more simple.

Ballloon

Save webfiles (image, link) directly to clouds (Google Drive, Dropbox). beta 1.5.2

Ballloon is the quickest way to save web files to clouds. Viewing this page with your mobile devices? Don’t worry! Visit Ballloon.com (3 L’s) when you are available to use your laptop, and you can add Ballloon from there as well.

What is Ballloon?

Ballloon is an extension which helps you collect image, pics, pdf or link directly to your Dropbox and Google Drive without downloading steps.

  • Download image to clouds can be extremely fast and simple, ONE left clicking is done.
  • You can also right click a link to save web files.
  • Certainly the default destination folder is alterable.
  • You can read the transfer tasks at Departures board.
  • I can’t help telling you that it’s really fast.
  • “One more thing”, buy yourself a better mouse.

 

Posted in: Apps & Games
By July 14, 2014 Read More →

Acer Chromebook CB3 leaks online

Screenshot 2014-07-08 07.12.57Mobilegeeks.de report that a CB3 featuring an 11.6-inch screen, Intel Celeron N2830 (Bay Trail) processor chugging along at 2.13GHz and paired with 2GB of DDR3 RAM will go on sale in Europe priced at €219. If rumours are true then this model will be particularly attractive as the memory is not soldered on to the board but housed in a slot. This means, theoretically at least, that owners should be able to swap the 2GB RAM stick for something larger.

The now ubiquitous 1366×768 resolution features, albeit with a glossy rather than matte finish, and there’s 16GB of eMMC storage for housing all your files.  There are a pair of USB ports (1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0) and a full-sized HDMI out. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and webcam are all included, and the built-in battery is good for 8 hours.

Posted in: Laptops, News, Rumours
By July 14, 2014 Read More →

LG G Pad 10.1 coming to UK soon

lg-g-pad-10-1-main-imageLG have launched the G Pad 10.1 in the US and the UK is due to follow quite quickly. This 10.1″ WXGA tablet features a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, a quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage, a microSD card slot, a 1.3 megapixel front camera and a 5 megapixel rear camera. The G Pad 10.1 will arrive with with Android 4.4.2 KitKat, an 8000 mAh battery, wifi and Bluetooth. LG says it will be available in two colours, black and red. At 8.9mm thick and 523g, the LG G Pad 10.1 is about the same thickness as the Nexus 10, but is lighter by about 80g. 

LG has not yet revealed any pricing for the new tablet. However, rumours are that the Pad will launch in the affordable range of $200-300. With any luck we will have some info soon on their remaining tablet model, the G Pad 8.0.

Posted in: News, Rumours, Tablets
By July 13, 2014 Read More →

Screen casting from Android to Chromecast

cast_screenThose lovely people at Google are currently packing in the ultimate feature for the Chromecast, screen casting. Now, anything on your Android device can appear on the TV. Google are pushing sharing features more so than gaming and apps by saying “You can share photos stored on your phone with a group of friends, or scope out the scenery for your next family vacation together on the big screen using Google Earth.”

This feature is currently in beta and will roll out on popular Android phones or tablets from Samsung, HTC, LG, and others over the next few days. Look out for the 1.7 update of the Chromecast app on Google Play store to use this new feature. 

Posted in: Apps & Games, Gadgets, Phones, Tablets, TV & Home Cinema
By July 12, 2014 Read More →

Acer knocking out two i3 Chromebooks

Acer-C720-Chromebook-front-angle_w_450 (1)Acer America announced on Thursday that it is the first company to offer Chromebooks with an Intel Core i3 processor. The company actually updated its popular Acer C720 Chromebook, producing two new models with  starting prices of $349.99 and $379.99.

According to the specs, the difference between the two models is in the memory. The cheaper Acer C720-3871 will have 2 GB of memory; the slightly more expensive Acer C720-3404 will have 4 GB of memory. Both will pack the fourth-generation Intel Core i3-40005U dual-core processor (1.7 GHz, 3 MB L3 cache), and a 3950 mAh battery promising up to 8.5 hours on a single charge.

We will hopefully see these arrive on UK shores in the next few weeks.

 

Posted in: Laptops, News
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