Category: Uncategorized

So, as I’m typing this, I’m thinking – I have a few busy Sunday’s coming up, and might just do a little 2 minute video summarising my Top Two Tech Stories! – and yes, I did previously say the podcast was coming back… and it will! (Just refining the content).

Ok, now for this week’s Top Two Tech Stories!

1. First up – Google Photos!

So, like many, I use Google Photo’s and I wanted to share (in case you hadn’t heard) their offer for free unlimited storage for ‘high quality’ images ends on June 1.

One thing’s for sure – Google Photos is, and will continue to be, a fantastic option for saving your snaps online. The service offers simple and secure cross-platform access, plus a suite of smart sorting, editing and sharing tools to get the best out of your image library. And it’s not just for Android users: Google Photos plays nice with web browsers, as well as PCs, Macs and iOS devices.

Google Photos has proved popular because of the unlimited free storage capacity it previously offered for compressed photos. But that’s changing from 1 June 2020 – and it could have significant repercussions, depending on how you use the service.

Whether you’re new to Google Photos or a long-established user, it’s worth taking a few minutes to understand what the policy changes mean and how the new storage pricing structure will affect you. Most likely, you’ll have to upgrade…

2. Next up… Audi E-Tron

I’ve written a lot about Tesla’s recently, and I was asked about my thoughts on other EV’s (Electric Vehicles)… well, the Audi e-Tron GT concept was revealed three long years ago – and in my opinion looks like a good rival to Tesla! And finally, the production version of this highly anticipated EV has arrived. Almost identical to the car revealed at the 2018 LA Auto Show, it’s the second bespoke electric vehicle from Audi, following the e-Tron SUV. And this e-Tron ought to be good as the GT shares much of its DNA with the Porsche Taycan.

Like the Taycan, the e-Tron sits on the J1 platform, a bespoke electric framework jointly developed by Audi and Porsche. Designed from scratch for a high-performance electric car, it’s an antidote to the jacked-up crossovers, SUVs and mobility pods that currently dominate the EV market.

On first impressions the e-Tron GT is that this is an intriguing machine. Despite sharing the same architecture as the Taycan, it’s a very different car. It prioritises comfort over pure speed, and executes this mission cleanly.

Rather than creating a lazier version of the Porsche, Audi has crafted an electric GT designed for crunching miles. With 800V fast-charging capability where available (62 miles in five minutes) and a competitive range (RS is a claimed 283 miles, the quattro 298), the e-Tron GT could be the best EV for road trips currently on sale.

But the entry-level quattro – not the RS – will worry Tesla and the rivals the most: priced at under £80,000, it undercuts the entry-level Model S, while offering comparable performance and serious comfort.

So there we have it… Photo’s and Audi’s this week. And I will continue to share more about EV’s as they’re a hot topic!

In life, we will experience a lot. But it’s how you use that experience to either take it as a lesson or not.

What a week it’s been! So, if you follow me on social media, you’ll know it’s been a busy one! Lots happening – and the main thing is, I’ve been learning from everything. Like my Friday Thought – Never Lose… Only Win or Learn.

Ok, so let’s start with the week’s Top Two Tech Stories.

1. Apple Watch and Glucose Monitoring could be a thing!

There have been plenty of rumors about glucose monitoring being one of the new features that arrives with the new iWatch7, and that now looks more likely – after Apple mentioned the feature itself in one of its regular user surveys.

As reported by 9to5mac, the survey asks users about any apps they’ve got installed to track eating habits, medications and blood glucose levels. The implication is that Apple is thinking about adding blood sugar monitoring to its smartwatch in the future.

Other questions cover the health features built into the Apple Watch – step counting, activity rings, reminders to stand up, and so on – and how often they’re used, and the questionnaire then goes on to ask about third-party apps for managing health data.

2. Now, not really a top tech story item in itself as such, however – remember the days when we needed a big camera, lights, sounds and even more expensive equipment to get really good video’s produced.

Well, it all changed with our mobile phones – now with the ability to film 4K videos and easy to clip on mic’s for that great audio sound. But what about a telepromter?

Well…now you can do it all on your phone! That’s right – hav a ring light for that perfect lighting. Mic for the perfect sound… and now you can get your words perfect! Record with confidence with Teleprompter!

How awesome is this! – It’s all about having the ability to do everything from your phone!

So there you go…. My Top Two Stories, Glucose monitoring on your new iWatch whilst you say the right words for your next video!

Good Morning! – Another crazy week!! – A lot has been happening, such as the Apple Spring Event took place (but we spoke about this last week), UK politics (with up and coming local council and police commissioner elections) and finally, India – and how the new variant/wave 2 of Covid has hit the country!

So for the week gone, I’ll share my Top Two Tech Stories…

1. Up first, Britcoin!

Now, I’ve previously shared with you what Bitcoin is, how it works and that wonderful video by the young girl. So now you (kind of) understand it… Rishi Sunak is exploring the idea of a new digital currency called Britcoin!

A Bank of England backed digital version of sterling would potentially allow businesses and consumers to hold accounts directly with the bank and to sidestep others when making payments, upending the lenders’ role in the financial system.

“We’re launching a new taskforce between the Treasury and the Bank of England to coordinate exploratory work on a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC),” Sunak told a financial industry conference.

Soon after, Sunak tweeted the single word “Britcoin” in reply to the finance ministry’s announcement of the taskforce.

2. Spotify CEO, Daniel Ek has expressed an interest in purchasing Arsenal Football Club!

Daniel Ek and his business parter Martin Lorentzon founded the company (Spotify) in 2006 in Sweden, and launched the product in 2008. It was listed in 2018 and the 38 year old is currently worth a cool $4.7bn.

The company has more than 180 million users, 87 million of whom are paying subscribers – and many, went to twitter to share that they would happily move to the premium paid service of Spotify if it’d help Arsenal buy some top class players!

From a startup, to a huge company…. to now potentially purchasing Arsenal. Truly, anything is possible! (Makes me thinks, what were you doing in 2006?!) – Could you have gone the same route and potentially be buying your favourite football team…?

So there are my Top Two Tech stories for the week. From Britcoin (now I’m at the end of this blog post – my auto spellcheck finally recognises it and stops changing it to Bitcoin!) and Spotify. Who knows, in the future, you could pay for your music with Britcoins and spend it at the Emirates!

Hope you had a lovely Easter. I recall, this time last year – at the start of Lockdown, in April – it was HOT! Well, let me re-phrase… the weather was absolutely lovely, and we were in gardens enjoying the suns rays. This year… we’re not quite at those temperatures but to get you warmed up for the week ahead… here’s my Top Two stories of the week!

1. First up – it’s been a bit of a sad week. Not tech or innovation related – but nevertheless, would like to share my condolences to the families of DMX, HRH Prince Philip, Nikki Grahame, and others who passed away this week. It’s though when loved ones pass away – thoughts and prayers for anyone who’s going through tough times at the moment.
2. Moving to tech… and to share something that came in my newsfeed recently was Tesla – and their naming convention for cars.

Now, you may be aware, there’s the Model S, 3, X and Y. For those eagle eyed amongst us – you’ll see it could (kind of) spell SEXY. Now, the reason why Tesla didn’t release the Model 3 as Model E is because Ford own the copyright for that name and wouldn’t release it.

Anyway… so we have SEXY.. but what next? Well… sources inform us that Tesla in China are working on a Model 2.. which could also be built in the Berlin Factory. It’d be similar to a BMW 2 series, Audi A2, etc… so the 2, as a name, works. People will know.

After the 2… there’ll be a Tesla 4. Again, slightly bigger than the 3…

So we have the naming convention of 2, 3, 4…. and my shirt.

That’s correct. Tesla – rumoured – to have an idea, to build a car called, ‘my shirt’.

Bal… are you pulling our leg?

Not at all. Tesla honestly wanted a line up called SEXY, it’s just unfortunately the E wasn’t available and went for 3, so it’s S3XY.

And coming up… we have 2, 4 and my shirt. Why?

This is a requirement because then the lineup can be: 2 S-3-X-Y 4 My Shirt.

And with that…. I’ll leave you with the classic. (Have a great weekend!)

Who’s your biggest fan?

First and foremost – Happy Easter! Hope you’re enjoying Easter and have not consumed tooooo many Easter Eggs! With so much going on in the World, it’s becoming more and more difficult to pick only two stories – and for those asking will I include more, unfortunately not at the moment. But will try to do more blog posts…

Ok, let’s get to it this Easter Weekend!

1. First up – Whatsapp Scam! – So this first appeared on Twitter. Basically, there’s a very clever scam that’s going around which concerns all Whatsapp users. The attack revolves around the six-digit verification code that WhatsApp gives out when you want to regain access to your account.

The message reads ‘Hello, sorry I sent you a six-digit code by SMS by mistake, Can you transfer it to me please? It’s urgent.’

What has actually happened is your friend’s account has been hacked.

Scammers are now trying to hack all their contacts. You are one of them.

They are trying to set up WhatsApp on a new device with your number.

WhatsApp acknowledges this and sends a six-digit authorisation code to your mobile phone by SMS.

“The scammers now try and get you to forward it to them by pretending to be a friend of yours,” he said.

“If you send them the code, your WhatsApp will be hacked.”

Which? and Mr Alexis urged users to turn on two-step verification as protection. They also suggested confirming whether the verification message is real by contacting the friend who sent the message without using WhatsApp.

2. And this week gone…. we had April’s Fool Day! – Now we had some really good ones this year, and some… not so good ones!

You are probably wondering which ones were my favourite… well, personally for me, I think VW did very well, they came in early, made it very believable and did all the ground work required. Innocent also teamed up with Heinz which was clever…. especially after the whole beans on Weetabix situation!

Which was your favourite?

So there we have it… whatsapp scams and April Fool Jokes which had us all believing…

Today’s Friday Thought, is from a friend of mine. She’s shared this with me, and I think it’s great to think about what it really means… especially on a cloudy day.