Firstly…. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Hope Santa gave you what you wanted! Christmas is a great time of the year – and I just wanted to take this opportunity to all those who read my blog, a very Merry Christmas!
If you did receive some awesome tech presents – please share them with me! – you can tweet me, or share them on Insta and tag me. Or easier still… reply back to this blog post and tell me all about it!
Recently, I shared a list of some amazing tech gifts you could buy for loved ones, for Christmas.
But then – I received a message.
“Thanks Bal. Great list. But anything if I haven’t got that much money”. Yes Aaron. Yes I do. Here’s a list of a few things that are fairly low cost…
Up first… The Holy Stone HS450 Mini Drone (£32 on Amazon)
This insanely affordable mini drone by Holy Stone is a great gift option for beginners. It has a clever design with protection shells around its rotors, obstacle-avoiding tech, the ability to fly in any direction, and around 20 minutes of flight time per charge. It comes bundled with a controller and a trio of batteries.
Or… how’s about an iFixit Essentials Electronics Repair Kit?
Gadget tinkerers will instantly fall for this essential electronics toolkit by iFixit. Designed by industry experts with many years of experience in tearing down and fixing tech products, it includes precision screwdrivers and tweezers, as well as an opening tool, among many other bits.
All tools are neatly organized in a carrying case with a magnetic lid. The toolkit is backed by a lifetime warranty from iFixit.
Or, how’s about.. Soundcore Life P2 Mini True Wireless Earbuds (under £50 on Amazon)
Anker’s Soundcore Life P2 mini true wireless earbuds belie their price tag, making for an excellent tech gift for any occasion. They have a cool design with an exercise-friendly IPX5 rating for water resistance, good sound, and a comfy fit.
To make things even better, the earbuds have futureproof Bluetooth 5.2 and up to 8 hours of battery life (32 with the storage case). You can order the P2 mini in black, white, green, navy, and pink.
Or hows about… Nimble Champ Lite Portable Charger
The sleek and compact Nimble Champ Lite battery pack is incredibly giftworthy, since it can fully charge most smartphones with power to spare. It has a full USB port, and an even faster USB-C output.
Even more impressively, the gadget’s housing (available in black, blue, and stone) is made from recycled plastic. Nimble backs the product with a 2-year warranty.
Or hows about… PhoneSoap Basic UV Sanitizer
The reasonably priced (£50 on Amazon) PhoneSoap Basic UV sanitizer is a thoughtful tech gift, especially considering the times we live in. The product’s powerful UV-C bulbs can eliminate bacteria and germs from the recipient’s gadgets and other everyday items almost completely in about 10 minutes.
You can order the PhoneSoap Basic in black or white. It comes bundled with a USB cord.
So there you go.. My Top Five Low Cost Christmas Tech Gifts!
Great things always begin from the inside…
Christmas is around the corner… literally! A few weeks away!! And as the excitement builds, for those thinking… where is Bal and his Tech Christmas Gift Ideas for this year?!!… well, here it is… Merry Christmas!
Ok, it’s broken down into a few categories… oh, and prices are approx (subject to change depending where you shop!)
For the Music lovers out there…
IKEA Symfonisk WiFi speaker – £179
A wireless speaker they can hang on the wall. Oh, and it’s compatible with high-end Sonos speakers, thanks to the premium audio company’s partnership with IKEA.
Sony WF-1000XM4 noise-canceling headphones – £280
These lightweight Bluetooth earbuds feature market-leading noise-canceling technology and an IPX4 waterproof rating that will keep the sweat out if the lucky recipient takes them for a run.
AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt USB – £299
Probably the most you’ll ever pay for a USB stick, but audio purists will love this compact digital audio converter that gives digital music libraries a new lease of life.
For the home office workers…
Flexispot standing desk – £199 / Griffin Elevator laptop stand – £38
Give the gift of good posture this holiday season. Full-time remote workers (and their backs) could benefit from the electrically-operated Flexispot EG1, starting at £199. There are other options – I bought an desk that you can electronically move up and down (with some memory functions)… from Amazon! (I had to build it myself – came in a few different pieces – and I have to admit – it’s great!)
For a cheaper solution, a laptop stand like the Griffin Elevator notebook stand (£38) can keep a laptop at eye level, saving your loved one from a sore neck.
Ember Cup 2 – £149.95
This rechargeable smart cup can keep drinks warm for up to an hour, and even allows users to set a specific temperature via the accompanying app.
Logitech C920S webcam – £99.99
A full HD webcam with a built-in microphone and privacy shutter, perfect for meeting colleagues remotely. It’s also ‘big company’ approved – various folk use it to dial into their daily meetings.
Hmmm… Fitness Fanatic are you?… here you go…
Wahoo Elemnt Bolt – £299.99
Wahoo updated its popular bike computer this year with a colour screen and improved directions. Simple integration with fitness apps like Strava, as well as power, cadence, and heart rate monitors make this a must-have for cyclists.
Theragun Mini – £199
Massage guns are an increasingly popular way to recover from a workout more quickly. The Theragun Mini is the smallest, cheapest, and most portable option on offer from Therabody, which has been in the industry since 2016.
Apple Watch Series 7 – from £429+
The newest edition of Apple’s smartwatch features a larger screen and faster recharging than the old model. It packs in all the standard activity-tracking features, plus the ability to check the level of oxygen in your blood. Also… don’t rule out the series 6 or even the 3! (both still at very competitive prices and very good tech!
For the Outdoor Explorer…
Phoozy Apollo thermal phone case – from £43
Like a spacesuit for your phone, Phoozy claims its thermal protection case can extend battery life in extreme cold, and protect devices from overheating in the sun.
Biolite Firepit+ – £299.95
It’s a campfire, but without the smoke. At least that’s what Biolite claims. The Firepit+ uses a rechargeable battery pack to blow jets of air that ensure a cleaner and more efficient burn. It can even recharge your devices via USB.
Garmin Inreach Mini – £349
No signal? No problem. Stay safe in the great outdoors with this mini satellite communicator.
Summary…. So there you go. A few ideas… in a few different categories… to ensure you get a few presents for Christmas!
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!
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!
Well… a number of folk asked me – Bal, where’s your regular blog post about the latest Black Friday Deals? – Well.. I didn’t do one on purpose this year. Because a) most have been on the same low price previously and b)… well, you’ll see below why.
And with that, first up – We may not have enough gadgets and tech items for Christmas!
As people rush to snap up their Black Friday deals, there are mounting worries that some gadgets won’t be available for Christmas.
Silicon, which is in most products, is in short supply because of high demand and manufacturing problems since the start of the pandemic.
The world now faces one of the most extreme chip shortages it has seen.
It means that this year, people may be disappointed when it comes to giving and receiving tech as presents.
According to technology experts Trusted Reviews, the Nintendo Switch is the UK’s most wanted piece of tech this year.
Earlier this month, Nintendo revised its sales forecast because of “the effects of the global semiconductor shortage”.
Chip designers ARM warned the scarcity could delay Christmas gifts like the Switch being delivered on time and said that, in some instances, the wait for chips is taking 60 weeks.
The PS5 and the Xbox Series X and Series S have been extremely difficult to buy since they launched last year. Demand for these new consoles would have been high regardless of the chip shortage. When they are occasionally restocked, they often sell out in minutes.
Apple’s iPhone is also a much wanted gift for Christmas, after its latest generation model was released in September.
The company recorded a 54% increase in revenue in the first three months of 2021, when compared with the same period last year.
But it faced “larger than expected supply constraints” between June and September, and said that the chip shortage is now affecting “most products”.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook previously warned investors that it could affect sales of the iPhone and the iPad.
There are less handsets available too. Apple had originally planned to produce 90 million iPhones in the final months of this year, but cut that figure by 10 million because there were not enough available parts.
There are also reports that Samsung and OnePlus are struggling to keep up with demand for their phones.
Earlier in the year, Google was forced to limit its Pixel 5a launch to only the USA and Japan.
The big question is – when will it end?
Experts have predicted the shortage could go on for another year or so.
Pedro Martins, co-founder of IT company Totality Services, said: “The reality is, the silicon chip shortage has been ongoing for some time now, it just wasn’t visible to the general public.
“It’s more prominent now because of the sheer volume of user devices that require chips. In the past it was mainly servers, workstations and laptops that needed the chips, that’s no longer the case.
“The reality is, no-one actually knows when the shortage will end, but it will without a doubt improve in the short term.”
Next up… It’s the end of the road for the Phone!
Apple’s AR headset could arrive in 2022, powered by two processors, according to noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The device could support both Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) and could sport micro-OLED displays when it is launched next year. Apple has already made strides in AR technology on the iPhone and iPad with the addition of LiDAR technology on the iPhone 12 Pro. The company’s AR wearables have been rumoured for several months, and the analyst believes that the company could be looking to replace the iPhone within a decade.
While the Cupertino company is yet to announce any plans for AR or VR headsets in the coming year, Kuo believes that Apple could launch a powerful AR headset in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to a report by 9to5Mac. The rumoured AR headset could feature processing capabilities similar to those of a Mac and could operate independently of a Mac (PC) or an iPhone (phone) while supporting a range of applications.
According to Kuo, Apple’s AR headset could be powered by two chips, a powerful one that offers similar power as last year’s M1 Mac, and a less powerful chip for handling sensors on the headset. It could come with VR support as well, according to Kuo, who adds that the device could come with two Sony 4K micro-OLED displays.
Kuo also suggests that Apple could eventually replace the iPhone with AR in a decade, “representing the demand for Ajinomoto Build-up Film (ABF) of AR headsets will exceed at least one billion pieces in ten years,” according to the analyst, who adds that the company will have to sell “at least one billon AR devices” in ten years, to replace the iPhone in a decade.
So there you go… gadget shortages for Christmas (so plan ahead!) and will you really need a phone for the future!
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…
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…..?
Today, marks the day, where Sikh’s around the world celebrate the Birth of the First Guru, Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji provided us with 3 core foundational principles which were;
For all the Sikhs celebrating today – Happy Gurpurab.
Yes, I know I’ve spoken about Electric Cars before.
Yes, I understand not everyone is in a position to buy an electric car.
Or are they?
We need to reduce emissions. That’s clear. Are electric cars the answer? – well, they’ll help. What will help more is if we walk, bus, rail, etc… now, these options are not always viable. And we need to jump into the car to go somewhere. So what can we do to be more greener?
Well.. to those saying, Bal… these electric cars are expensive! – Yes, I agree. They are, but many are coming down in price. Many have done over the past few years as they’ve got more popular – supply and demand. So with prices coming down, they are beginning to become more affordable.
If you are petrol/diesel right now – I’d suggest a hybrid. (See previous blog post about this topic).
If you’re moving to electric, there’s some great options…
One of the cheapest new electric cars you can get are Skoda CITIGOe-iV. Around the £15,000 mark – it’s perfect for around town driving!
Now, 135 miles you might be thinking… yes. Ok, it’s not alot – but again, it’s perfect for around town. If you want more miles, you’ll need a little bit more money. Now… for a bit more money, you could get an Hyundai Kona or there’s a Chinese alternative;
The Aiways U5 does 210 miles and is from £28,000. Looks half decent too.
Then you can spend a little more… and when you’re in the £30k+ bracket, there’s alot more to choose from.
Prices will come down. There’s second hand electric cars you can also look at. Take the Renault Zoe for example… which you can pick up used for around the £10k mark.
It’s a roomy car that can easily seat four people, although rear passengers do sit higher than normal because the batteries are tucked away under the back seat.
Older models have a 22kWh battery with a real-world range of around 100 miles. More recent ones have a bigger 41kWh battery for 180 miles of driving between charges.
Something important for you to note – initially, the Zoe was available with a separate battery leasing option, which meant you would pay for the battery each month in addition to the cost of the car. This initiative was dropped in 2019, but keep an eye out for used models that come with an additional battery lease cost.
Versions badged ‘i’ include the battery but are generally more expensive to purchase as a result. There is a benefit to leasing the battery, however; if the condition of the battery reduces below a certain point – in turn reducing how far you can travel per charge – Renault will replace the battery for you.
The key thing to remember is the additional cost savings.
Combustion Engine vehicles need servicing and there’s more parts that could fail compared to an electric car. You don’t necessarily need the yearly or every 10k service. Yes, you need to check tyres and other things – but nothing engine related!
And then finally… if you are looking for a used electric car… but you’re budget is under £5k… I’ve found something for you…
Here’s the full description..
Fully working techx model , No road tax , No congestion charge , Air con and touch screen android radio 6 inch screen , Heated seats , Can charge at home from normal plug socket type 2 takes 6 to 7 hours, DC fast charger also CHAdeMO at station, Takes 40 mins, 75 mile range on full charge , Lowest insurance category, £4,300
To be fair, for £4,300… 75 mile range…. you can’t really go wrong for around town driving!
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!
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.
“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!