Category: Week in Review

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Week in Review

Top Tech Trends

Top UK Technology News: Key Developments You Should Know

In the UK, the tech sector is buzzing with significant developments, from innovations in AI to updates in the gaming and digital infrastructure space. Here’s a roundup of the most important tech news stories that have dominated headlines across the country recently.

1. UK Government Announces £100 Million Funding for AI Research

The UK government has pledged £100 million in funding to accelerate artificial intelligence research and development across the country. The funding will be aimed at AI innovation hubs, universities, and research institutions with a focus on ensuring that the UK remains a global leader in AI technology. The initiative is part of the government’s broader strategy to position the UK at the forefront of the AI and digital economy.

Why it matters: This is a bold move by the UK government to capture a larger share of the rapidly growing global AI market. With this funding, the UK is looking to strengthen its AI ecosystem and attract top talent, positioning itself as a key player in shaping the future of AI. The focus on responsible AI research is also timely, given ongoing concerns about the ethical implications of AI technologies.

2. BT Group’s £15 Billion Investment in UK Digital Infrastructure

BT Group has unveiled a major investment plan, committing £15 billion over the next decade to improve the UK’s digital infrastructure. The plan includes expanding 5G networks, upgrading broadband services, and increasing coverage in rural areas. BT aims to make faster internet services more accessible to underserved communities, helping to bridge the digital divide.

Why it matters: This investment is a major step in the UK’s efforts to improve connectivity across the country, especially in rural and remote regions. With better internet access, businesses and individuals in less connected areas will benefit from faster speeds and more reliable connections, helping to boost productivity and digital inclusion.

3. Apple’s New M3 Chips Now Available in the UK

Apple’s highly anticipated M3 chips have officially launched in the UK, with new MacBook Pro models and the Mac Mini now available for purchase. The M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips promise impressive gains in performance, including faster CPU and GPU speeds, improved energy efficiency, and enhanced AI capabilities. The chips are designed to cater to creative professionals, developers, and anyone who needs serious computing power.

Why it matters: The M3 chips mark a new generation of Apple’s ARM-based silicon, offering a more powerful and efficient alternative to Intel’s processors. For UK businesses and consumers, the M3-equipped devices represent a significant leap forward in computing performance, particularly in the creative industries, where speed and power are crucial.

Let us know in the comments which of these stories you found most interesting, or if you’re excited about any new developments coming out of the UK tech scene!

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Week in Review

Sunday (Tech) Summary

I thought this morning – there’s alot going on in the world of Technology and I haven’t had the opportunity for a while to share with you all what’s going on, how it’s all going… and most importantly, which bit of tech that really matters to you! So here we go…

First up, the new iPhone 15

Now, there’s been alot of hype over the iPhone 15 but in all honesty, I’m not seeing the huge leap that I was expecting.

Yes, it’s got a quicker processor.

Yes, the camera technology has improved.

Yes, the operating has some new cool features.

Yes, the charging port has changed to USB C.

Yes, it’s the new iPhone with an improved dynamic island user interface.

But should you upgrade?

Well, depends what you have now. The camera tech, to be fair has improved considerably. So if you’re rocking an 11 or 12, then yes! I would say definitely upgrade. If you’ve got a 13 or 14… depends if you need the speed (new processor makes it faster than before) and images (if you want a much better camera) then yes, upgrade. If you’re on the fence on these items… then you could wait or think about what other tech you could get.

Next up, what if you’ve got a Samsung?

The new Samsung Galaxy S23 has been accidently leaked in an image.

The leak comes from an image posted on the Galaxy Buds FE page found on Samsung Argentina’s website. Eagled-eyed Samsung watchers have spotted the date of Wednesday, October 4th in the notifications bar of the Tab S9 FE

Unfortunately, I don’t know much more at this time… but will share more as and when there’s more information shared. But for the Samsungers amongst us, this would be interesting for sure…

And finally, (not phone related)… AI Alexa!

Amazon has announced plans to incorporate Generative AI into its Alexa digital assistant.

Alexa is arguably the most popular virtual assistant. Still, like Siri, it uses natural language processing (NLP), a branch of AI that helps systems understand and naturally respond to human speech. However, these assistants are limited and trained to respond to patterns with pre-determined scripts or replies that need to be processed. That is, until now.

Currently, Alexa can recite a bedtime story for your kids. With the addition of Gen AI, Alexa would be able to produce unique stories each time, complete with your kids’ names for the characters and genres.

Essentially, generative AI would make Alexa smarter. This also means that Alexa would be able to answer open-ended questions without resorting to an internet search or an “Alexa answers contributor”.

Personally, I think that’s quite awesome – but also scary on the other hand because what you feed into GenAI helps it build it’s knowledge so becareful with any sensitive information you may be talking about!

So that’s a wrap folks! A quick Sunday (Tech) Summary of a few tech bits from the past week or so.

I’ll share some more in a few weeks… And like always, if you have any questions, you can always reach out to me on my socials or via this blog!

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Week in Review

Week in Review

I remember I used to do these Sunday Tech Reviews a year ago – was a bit much and decided to halt – but it’s back! After a few folk kept asking me, I thought why not… let’s bring it back!

So my Top Two Tech Stories from the week gone…

Elon Vs Halli

So, as you know – Elon Musk owns Twitter. And went on a bit of a rampage firing lots of Twitter employees, because he thought – there was too many for what was needed at Twitter (we’ll discuss if he was right or wrong another day). But this week, Halli Thorleifsson – a Twitter employee, asked Elon – directly, on Twitter, if he was still employed by the company or not – because he didn’t know!

There was a Twitter exchange between the two – at one point, Elon tweeting…

Only for Halli, to share a series of tweets to explain a number of things such as his health, his money that he made, his business, etc..

Between all the exchanges and information that Halli shared – Elon must have done and done some research because, he then replied: “Based on your comment, I just did a video call with Halli to figure out what’s real vs what I was told. It’s a long story. Better to talk to people than communicate via tweet.” and he said sorry to Halli.

If you get a chance, go to Twitter and have a read of the tweets that were exchanged.

Ok, up next..

Lineker Vs BBC

My tech news won’t always be one person another or a competition – but it just so happens, this week – there was another Versus/battle! – This time, with Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker tweeting.. (this is kind of tech – as it’s social media related). So what did Gary tweet…

Now, the problem was – many folks in the Government didn’t like this. The chairman of the BBC is connected to the Conservative party – through donations he made to the political party. And not saying there’s a correlation but… Gary stepped down from presenting the show. His co-presenters – Ian Wright and Alan Shearer also stepped down in solidatory.

Alot of presenters, reporters, etc… also stepped down – even with players and managers not wanting to do interviews with Match of the Day.

Now – the problem isn’t so much about Gary tweeting – but it’s moreso about guidelines. There’s been many presenters who have tweeted in the past – and nothing was done. So why Gary, now?

You can go ahead – again, looks like you’ll spend a little time on twitter, and read about Gary’s tweet and other tweets that show other comments made by other presenters – and the BBC response.

With that… they are my Top Two Tech Stories – and I think the key thing is… Twitter can be quite powerful.

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Uncategorized Week in Review

Week 48… 2021!

Only 4 weeks left and 2021 is over.

I remember starting my Top Two Tech Stories in January, 2021 – and it’s been fun! Right now – not sure if i’ll continue into 2022.

For now, there’s alot going on in the tech world – with the whole metaverse etc.. but I’m going to bring it right home. And focus on two stories, that would’ve been relevant to folks here.

First up – it’s all about the Holiday Season!

  1. Nest Doorbell and their tunes!

Google announced this Wednesday on its Nest community blog the return of holiday-themed ringtones for Nest Doorbells (via 9to5Google). Visitors arriving for family holiday gatherings can now press the Nest Doorbell and be greeted with sounds of the holidays, including “Winter,” Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and New Year’s jingles.

Google did have holiday bell options last year as well — but only as a perk for subscribers to its Nest Aware smart alert service. This year, owners of both the battery Nest Doorbell and the wired version (formerly Nest Hello) can get in on the fun sans that subscription. Google mentions that the newer battery Nest Doorbell requires users to use the Google Home app with an account in order to activate the themes — while wired users can also enable them through the Nest app and site.

Google is setting the trend on having seasonal ringtones — in October of this year, the company released Halloween-themed ringtones with multiple spooky tunes. The ghostly ringtones also replicated onto accompanied Nest speakers and hubs inside the home — a feature now available for the new holiday ringtones so families and friends can get cheery together before even opening the door.

Next up… whilst most of us have Sky TV – there are some, who have Virgin Media TV and it’s not been great recently…

Some Virgin Media customers were left without access to TV services for more than 10 hours, after the firm suffered a nationwide outage.

The issue began at about 10:30 GMT prompting thousands of viewers to report problems.

The firm told customers its engineers were trying to fix the problem, which hit cities across the UK, including London, Birmingham and Manchester.

Virgin Media apologised, and said it would fix it “as soon as possible”.

The issue had been caused by “a major power outage”, the firm said.

The website Downdetector which tracks outages received more than 18,000 reports of problems at one point.

Many users tweeted their annoyance at the loss of service, and the way in which Virgin Media communicated: “Can you update please? No TV. Your status page down. No info on phone lines,” wrote one customer.

The company said it had identified the fault and its engineers were working flat-out to fix the issue.

At 13:45 GMT the company wrote: “We have now restored several channels with customers able to watch BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, ITV+1 and Channel 4. TV360 customers are also able to access apps on their box,” the firm wrote.

“We’re working to restore all channels as quickly as possible and continue to work towards having this resolved this afternoon.”

But the partial return did not please everyone: “Channels 1 to 4 are working, but the problem is it’s not the year 1985 and we pay for hundreds of channels,” one customer tweeted.

And some users complained that the channels had appeared then disappeared. Oh Lord.

There you go… all about TV going down and welcoming guests to a nice tune from your doorbell.. I’m sure my parents had a doorbell similar that played a christmas tune back in 1985!

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Week in Review

Week 46… 2021!

Hope you are well, and having a great weekend. Lots happening in the world of Technology, and I appreciate the comments from many of you readers who reached out to me after my EV post recently, about affordable Electric Vehicles.

Back to this week – and in the news, you’ve guessed it… Tesla were in the news again! This time, people who try to unlock their car from their phone – were unable to! issues with the app… You see, If I am travelling further than 20mins from my home, I’ll carry the key card with me. Because, let’s be honest – I trust alot of tech – but when it comes to the car – and a phone – it’s usually safer to carry the key card, because you just never know! (It’s all working now by the way!!)

Now to my Top Two Tech Stories of the week…

  1. First up… Imagine a Robot pouring your drinks!

You got it – when you go to a pub or bar, if the staff are friendly and helpful it very much adds to your enjoyment of the experience.

By contrast, having to deal with a surly person serving up your pint or margarita it risks significantly reducing your happiness levels.

For people with a regular drinking establishment of choice, the person behind the bar can even become a friend and confidant. Or, as renowned Canadian economist, Harry Gordon Johnson once said: “The greatest accomplishment of a bartender lies in his ability to exactly suit his customer.”

Soon, however, those bar staff might not even be human. Enter Cecilia, a robotic bartender that mixes and serves cocktails, and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to talk to customers in much the same way that Alexa, on an Amazon Echo speaker, or Siri, on an iPhone can respond to you.

The unit looks a bit like a tall fruit machine, only with an animated female barmaid – Cecilia – appearing on a large, upright video screen. You either tell her what cocktail you want, or order it on the below touch-screen, and pay for the drink by tapping your bank card or phone.

Your cocktail is then mixed and made inside the machine, and dispensed into a glass at the vending slot.

“Cecilia works on voice recognition and AI technology,” says Elad Kobi, chief executive of the Israeli firm behind the technology – Cecilia.AI. “She can chat to customers, and when they choose a specific cocktail, she can make it, live.”

The company says that each unit can be filled with 70 litres of different types of spirits, and that it can serve up to 120 cocktails per hour. At least if customers don’t stay for extended chats.

The firm first released the robot on 24 February of this year – World Bartender Day. Since then it has already been used at corporate events held by Microsoft, accountancy group KPMG, and tech firm Cisco.

Customers can either buy a Cecilia for $45,000 (£34,000), or hire one for $2,000 a month.

Mr Kobi believes that the traditionally change-resistant pubs and bars sector may increasingly turn to such technology in a bid to “wow” customers, and to stand out from the crowd.

Now… several years ago, I worked in partnership with Middlesex University to develop such a robot. We had some success – the sticking point for us was opening a glass bottle of coke. However, back then, when I was leading Innovation, it was brilliant to have a robot pour the perfect drink. The cost was another major hinderance – to have this in many bars. But glad to see you can hire one for $2,000 a month!

2. Sticking to Robots, Alphabet using Robots to clean up!

What does Google’s parent company Alphabet want with robots? Well, it would like them to clean up around the office, for a start.

The company announced today that its Everyday Robots Project — a team within its experimental X labs dedicated to creating “a general-purpose learning robot” — has moved some of its prototype machines out of the lab and into Google’s Bay Area campuses to carry out some light custodial tasks.

“We are now operating a fleet of more than 100 robot prototypes that are autonomously performing a range of useful tasks around our offices,” said Everyday Robot’s chief robot officer Hans Peter Brøndmo in a blog post. “The same robot that sorts trash can now be equipped with a squeegee to wipe tables and use the same gripper that grasps cups can learn to open doors.”

These robots in question are essentially arms on wheels, with a multipurpose gripper on the end of a flexible arm attached to a central tower. There’s a “head” on top of the tower with cameras and sensors for machine vision and what looks like a spinning lidar unit on the side, presumably for navigation.

As Brøndmo indicates, these bots were first seen sorting out recycling when Alphabet debuted the Everyday Robot team in 2019. The big promise that’s being made by the company (as well as by many other startups and rivals) is that machine learning will finally enable robots to operate in “unstructured” environments like homes and offices.

Right now, we’re very good at building machines that can carry out repetitive jobs in a factory, but we’re stumped when trying to get them to replicate simple tasks like cleaning up a kitchen or folding laundry.

Think about it: you may have seen robots from Boston Dynamics performing backflips and dancing to The Rolling Stones, but have you ever seen one take out the trash? It’s because getting a machine to manipulate never-before-seen objects in a novel setting (something humans do every day) is extremely difficult. This is the problem Alphabet wants to solve.

So there you go… my Top Two Tech Stories of the week… all about Robots. Are they really taking over…..?

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Week in Review

Week 45… 2021!

In the middle of November and someone told me, Christmas is nearly upon us!! Wow… have to admit, this year has gone super quick!

Not to dribble on about what’s been happening this year for me (I’ll save that for another day), but here’s my Top Two Tech Stories from this Week!

  1. First up… AI in Greece!!

Ancient Olympia is to be digitally preserved, in a new deal between the Greek government and Microsoft.

The collaboration uses artificial intelligence to map the site, and augmented reality to help restore the original home of the Olympic Games.

It will allow viewers to explore the area as it stood more than 2,000 years ago.

Microsoft has ambitions to rival Facebook with its own plans for the so-called metaverse.

It recently announced Microsoft Teams metaverse for meetings and is keen to transform Minecraft and other games it owns into more immersive 3D worlds.

Its tie-up with the Greek government means people can tour the site remotely or in person with an augmented-reality mobile app. At the Olympic Museum in Athens they can use HoloLens headsets to overlay a digital version of the site.

Microsoft’s augmented reality smart glasses HoloLens use multiple sensors, advanced optics, and holograms, to display information, blend with the real world or simulate a virtual world.

Among the 27 monuments to be preserved are the original Olympic Stadium, the temples of Zeus and Hera, and the workshop of the renowned sculptor Phidias.

The buildings are as close as possible to their original forms and include historical timelines of the site’s changes over time, and depictions of artefacts from each period.

Through its AI for Cultural Heritage initiative, Microsoft partnered technology company Iconem, which specializes in digitising historic sites in 3D.

Using on-the-ground cameras and drones to take hundreds of thousands of images of the site, Microsoft AI then processed the pictures to create models.

AI being used to view Olympia

“The cultural implications of this technology are endless. For the first time, visitors from around the world can virtually visit the birthplace of democracy, the ancient site of Olympia, and experience history first hand,” said the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Brad Smith, the president of Microsoft said: “The project to digitally preserve Ancient Olympia is a stunning achievement in cultural heritage, bringing together humanity and cutting-edge technology to benefit the world, and empower coming generations with new ways to explore our past.”

2. Up next… Beware and watch out for those scams!

A grandfather has told of how he lost money saved for Christmas presents after his family were duped by fraudsters on WhatsApp.

The 75-year-old, who wished to remain anonymous, said they had been tricked by criminals posing as his grand-daughter on the messaging service.

He transferred £1,550 to the con-artists, for an emergency medical bill that was a fake.

WhatsApp and trading standards officers are warning others of the scam.

Fraudsters posing as the young student sent a message to her father, saying she had a case of haemorrhoids that she was embarrassed to talk about.

Subsequent messages suggested that she needed money for private medical care and asked for the money to be transferred directly.

The correct spelling of her unusual name helped convince the family it was genuine, and her grandfather agreed to pay the supposed bill.

Attempts to contact her directly failed, as the calls went straight to an answerphone.

Only after the money was paid did they get through to her, and realised they had been tricked.

“You feel such a fool,” her grandfather said. “I was angry that I was able to be duped.

“You get used to these scam calls, but they are getting quite clever. I used to run my own business, so if they can fool people like me, a lot of very vulnerable people will be in trouble.”

He is trying to get the money refunded from his bank, but so far they have said their fraud checks were sufficient and have refused to reimburse him.

Surveys have suggested that 59% of those asked had received a message-based scam attempt in the last year.

Younger age groups, who were more likely to text than call, were said to be more exposed to these kinds of scams.

So stay careful – and if it doesn’t seem to be right, or if you haven’t spoken to the person – double/triple check, what you’re doing is the right thing.

There you go… my Top Two Tech Stories of the week…. AI is preserving Ancient Olympia and Whatsapp Scams getting more clever!

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Week in Review

Week 44… 2021!

Good Morning! – For those wondering where week 43 is, my apologies. Last Sunday, I was out with Blind Eye Soup Kitchen, walking around the city centre providing hot drinks and breakfast to those sleeping rough. Therefore didn’t have an opportunity to write about Week 43.

But here I am… Week 44! Lots happening! So I’ll share my Top Two Tech Stories of the Week!

  1. First up… Facebook becomes Meta!

So… as Facebook become Meta… and it’s all about the Metaverse, what is it?

To the outsider, it may look like a souped-up version of Virtual Reality (VR) – but some people think the metaverse could be the future of the internet.

In fact, the belief is that it could be to VR what the modern smartphone is to the first clunky mobile phones of the 1980s.

Instead of being on a computer, in the metaverse you might use a headset to enter a virtual world connecting all sorts of digital environments.

Unlike current VR, which is mostly used for gaming, this virtual world could be used for practically anything – work, play, concerts, cinema trips – or just hanging out.

Most people envision that you would have a 3D avatar – a representation of yourself – as you use it.

But because it’s still just an idea, there’s no single agreed definition of the metaverse.

Hype about digital worlds and augmented reality pops up every few years, but usually dies away.

However, there is a huge amount of excitement about the metaverse among wealthy investors and big tech firms, and no-one wants to be left behind if it turns out to be the future of the internet.

There’s also a feeling that for the first time, the technology is nearly there, with advancements in VR gaming and connectivity coming close to what might be needed.

Facebook has made building the metaverse one of its big priorities.

It’s invested heavily in virtual reality through its Oculus headsets, making them cheaper than rivals – perhaps even at a loss, according to some analysts.

It’s also building VR apps for social hangouts and for the workplace, including ones that interact with the real world.

2. Up next… Imagine getting paid in Bitcoin….?!

Well, guess what…. Eric Adams, mayor-elect for New York City, has said he would like his first three pay checks in bitcoin.

The former police captain was elected this week to take over at the end of mayor Bill de Blasio’s term in January.

Mr Adams said on social media that he wanted to signal his intention to make New York the “centre of the cryptocurrency industry”.

The value of bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has been highly volatile, since it was created in 2009.

Mr Adam’s comments appear to be an attempt to one-up the mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, who had already said in his own Twitter message that he would take his first pay check in bitcoin, after he was re-elected.

Mr Suarez has already said he would like to establish Miami as a hub for cryptocurrency innovation.

Mr Adams upped the stakes by asking for three months’ pay in the cryptocurrency.

“In New York we always go big, so I’m going to take my first three pay checks in bitcoin when I become mayor,” Mr Adams wrote in a Twitter post.

“NYC is going to be the centre of the cryptocurrency industry and other fast-growing, innovative industries! Just wait!”

Mr Adams, a Democrat, was elected on Tuesday, and will become the city’s second black mayor.

In August Mr Suarez helped established a cryptocurrency called MiamiCoin run by a nonprofit organisation, CityCoins. It sends 30% of the value of the currency that is created on a person’s computer to the city and has raised $7m for Miami, according to the Washington Post.

Mr Adams told Bloomberg radio that he would like to do something similar in New York.

If Mr Adams, who ran on a pro-business platform, wants to establish New York as a hub for cryptocurrencies he may run into opposition.

The cryptocurrency has been heavily criticised in the past over its environmental impact.

And New York Attorney General Letitia James, who will stand for election as governor of New York, recently launched a crackdown on unregistered cryptocurrency companies.

So there you go… getting paid in Bitcoin and all about the Metaverse. Would you get paid in Bitcoin?

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Week in Review

Week 42… 2021!

Another busy week on the ol’ tech front! – but let’s not hang around and dive straight into my Top Two Tech Stories of the week!

  1. First up – starting and selling companies!

British entrepreneur Nick D’Aloisio, who sold the mobile app Summly to Yahoo for $30m (£21.73m) at the age of 17, has sold his latest company to Twitter.

The Sphere group chat app was founded by Mr D’Aloisio and Tomas Halgas.

Sphere, which connects strangers interested in common topics, has been sold for an undisclosed amount and will close in November.

Its 20 or so staff will join Twitter to integrate their community features into the social network.

The company started as a question and answer app that allowed users to instantly chat to paid experts. At the end of 2018, almost 500,000 people were using that version of the platform.

However, Mr D’Aloisio said he found himself drawn to the community aspect of the app which brought strangers interested in the same topics together.

“What was interesting was that people were talking so often throughout the day, and it wasn’t just talking to their friend on Facebook, but someone they had not met before about something they were interested in,” he told the BBC.

As a result, the app slowly pivoted toward a focus on group chats.

Sphere’s features include the ability to:

  • create multiple chats for a single group
  • send highlighted announcements so no-one in a group misses anything
  • send notifications to individuals or just those yet to read a message

“A lot of the messenger apps that exist are catered toward groups that already know each other, but with Sphere, the aim was to unlock new dynamics and bring together people around the world with shared interests.”

Mr D’Aloisio said he was struck by the toxicity on platforms like Reddit, Facebook, Twitch and Twitter, which has been widely criticised about its handling of harassment and trolling.

2. Most shops going till-less!

The Tesco Express on High Holborn looks identical to thousands of others across the country. But inside there are no tills and no self-checkout machines. Instead you scan a QR code on your phone to gain entry, and a complex system of cameras and weighted shelves figures out what you have picked up. Once you’re done you just walk out and your phone (eventually) buzzes to tell you how much you’ve spent.

Yes – we’ve been here before – with the Amazon shop that was opened, but looks like Tesco are using the new technology and many more will be doing so too!

“It creates like an exoskeleton image of you and follows you around and knows what products you have bought,” Bilal explains – the store assistant. “But don’t worry, it’s not recording you and we don’t know who you are.”

Big retailers around the world reckon the technology in use at this Tesco GetGo store on High Holborn will revolutionise shopping and could account for $400bn (£290bn) of transactions within five years, according to analysts at Juniper Research.

The Holborn shop is new but Tesco has been trialling the technology at an Express outlet at its headquarters in Welwyn Garden City since 2019. That was two years before Amazon launched the first of its similar “till-less” stores in the UK.

Aldi is preparing to open its first checkout-free store in Greenwich. Morrisons is testing its own vision of the technology, codenamed Project Sarah, at its Bradford headquarters and has plans to quickly roll out dozens of small stores at busy locations.

So get ready to see no tills, just walk in – get what you want and walk out. This is the future.

So there you go… from an alternative to the usual social media platforms to till-less shopping!

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Week in Review

Week 41… 2021!

Not as much in the news this week – as previous weeks, but still alot going on in the world – and there’s some top tech stories that hit the news locally! So if you’re reading from outside the UK – these are two top tech stories mainly in the UK – however, I’m sure there’s elements of these you can relate to in one form or another…

So first up, we’re talking about stranded passengers at the Airport!

  1. NHS Covid Vaccine App Stops working!

The NHS Covid Pass, used to show a person’s vaccine status for travel and events, stopped working on Wednesday.

The feature, contained in the NHS smartphone app, usually allows users to access a barcode or text records about which vaccine doses they have had.

Instead, users received error messages or a notice saying that high traffic volumes are “limiting access to the service”.

Normal access to vaccine records was restored after more than three hours.

“The NHS Covid Pass service was temporarily unavailable between 11:45 and 15:15 today as a result of a technical issue with a global service provider that affected many different organisations,” NHS Digital said in a statement.

Online, many travellers expressed concern that they might not be able to prove their vaccinated status at airports or other departure points without the app.

Some claimed they missed their flight because of the problem, while others reported being “stranded” at an airport unable to fly.

We rely on technology so much – I recall, when I used to fly (pre-pandemic), my tickets were on my phone. I’d just flip up my phone (and if I was holding things/couldn’t get the phone out, I’d use my smart watch), and scan the barcode. Job done. No papers, etc… But this technology has to be reliable. I even recall, when we could use phones for tickets, I’d print a copy out – just in case! I suppose, I still take screenshots of barcodes, or used to, again, just in case something happened with the app.

2. Contactless Pay now upto £100!

The contactless card payment limit has increased from £45 to £100 on Friday 15th October, a move which has raised concerns about the risk of fraud.

Age UK warned that raising the limit could increase the potential for fraud, putting some older people off using bank cards to pay for goods and services.

“As the banks and some shops try to encourage people to use less cash, it’s important that they take proactive steps to help to boost people’s confidence to use cards as an alternative and to tackle fraud,” Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said.

“Both shop and bank employees should be trained to watch out for signs of coercion or abuse, such as unusual spending patterns, and be prepared to sensitively raise the issue with their customers when they believe it’s the right thing to do.”

Several banks will also allow account holders to set a contactless limit of less than £100 or turn it off altogether. And I think this is a good idea.

Despite the increased limit, many retailers’ terminals will need to be updated so for some the option will not be available immediately.

It may take “days, weeks, or even months” for some retailers to make the necessary changes, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), so for the time being customers will need to check with individual stores.

Remember the old days of cold hard cash? – You stood in a shop – looked at the cash you had in your hand, and you knew, that’s all you had to spend. You didn’t have any more. With the increase to £100, it’s now even easier to tap and spend. For some, it won’t be an issue as the funds will be in their account. For some, who are living on credit – I just hope, they are careful. Technology is great – allows flexibility and freedom, but we’ve noticed in our stories today, a) it’s not always reliable and b) you still have to stay in control!

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Week in Review

Week 40… 2021!

What a week! Yes – you know, I’m referring to the Facebook Family outage this week… we had insta, whatsapp… all of them down. Good to see Twitter meme’s taking full advantage of the situation!

And then there’s new about Elon… moving Tesla, from California to Texas! This was going to be one of my Top Tech Stories this week, but I feel I talk a lot about Tesla on here, a lot about Elon and the reason is, they are always in the news!! But don’t you worry… I’ve found some really good news stories in addition to the two above for you this week.

  1. Sky to ditch the Satellite!

British broadcaster Sky is launching a TV that streams content via the internet, removing the need for a satellite dish.

The company describes Sky Glass as a “no-fuss” streaming TV.

One expert said it would put the broadcaster in direct competition with TV makers such as Samsung and Sony.

Another said while ditching the “outdated satellite dish” was long overdue, it was “an expensive way to watch TV”.

Sky Glass eliminates the need for an external box – and with built-in Dolby Atmos, there is no need for a sound bar either. 

Other specs include:

  • three versions – 43in, 55in and 65in
  • a single wire and just one plug
  • 4K ultra-high-definition quantum-dot screen
  • 10-bit high dynamic range to support Dolby Vision HDR
  • voice-activated interface
  • available in five colours

“Sky Glass is the streaming TV with Sky inside, providing the total integration of hardware, software and content,” group chief executive Dana Strong said.

“We believe this is the smartest TV available.” 

Although it will require a Sky subscription, content from BBC iPlayer, Amazon, Netflix, Disney+, ITV Hub and All4 will also be available.

Sky has not yet named the hardware partner who will make the device.

It has also not explained how exactly it plans to stream its content over the web, without delays or buffering.

If someone wishes to cancel their Sky subscription after purchasing the TV, they will still be able to use the TV but will lose some of the more advanced features, such as voice control and playlists.

Oh.. and it’ll be carbon neutral.

2. Airless Tires!

We have phones that can survive being immersed, watches you can drag over a cheese grater and screens you can fold without breaking, but a common nail can strand your car on the side of the road. Tires need to lose their air, but not that way.

Michelin is one of several tiremakers that have been developing airless tires but they seemed as improbable as GM’s early vision of self-driving cars. Now, however, the two companies are putting a pin in the calendar to have airless tires on the market by 2024.

That’s right – you may remember a previous blog of mine talking about these types – but they are finally going to be here!

The first thing you notice about the airless Michelin Uptis, or Unique Puncture-proof Tire System tires is that you can see through them. Glass fiber reinforced plastic vanes support the tread rather than air pressure. 

Uptis tires also have a green angle: The promise to scrap 200 million fewer tires worldwide each year by eliminating sidewall cuts and accelerated wear due to improper inflation. This environmental benefit will accrue regardless of which companies crack the code for airless tires.

Aspects I’ll watch on the road to the airless tire include:

  • What will these weigh? The increasingly electric car world is lardy enough already.
  • How do they drive? Driving purists will rend their vestments as they did over automatic transmissions and electric power steering, but the rest of us are open to better ride quality. 
  • Are they quiet? Tire contact is the main cause of noise that emanates from freeways and inspires all those ugly sound walls.
  • Will these be fully compatible with today’s wheels or best suited to new ones designed for Uptis ? 
  • Can existing auto safety systems like ABS and stability control work properly with Uptis tires? 
  • How well will they shed snow, especially if it packs into the vanes and becomes ice?
  • What will they cost?

Airless tires will be an overdue leap forward. Today’s pneumatic ones date back as far as combustion engine cars, and we know which way those are going.