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Week 34… 2021!

A lot happened this week! – So much so… I was tempted to share more than two stories, but no… we have a process and the process shall be followed, because expectations may rise, variation is not good…

So let’s get straight into it… here’s my Top Two Tech Stories of the Week!

  1. First up, we have a German company, that’s created a road where it’ll charge electric vehicles!!

Indiana (US) may very well be the primary state to have a wi-fi charging street that tops up your electrical automobile as you drive alongside it.

Because the 21st century rolls on, we’ve all had these one or two moments the place we see some new expertise and the tempo of innovation actually comes residence to roost in our heads, usually with some recollection of Star Wars or Star Trek.

Perhaps for some it might have been the self-driving characteristic of the Tesla, or good residence methods, however for motorists in Indiana, that second could come by means of a shiny new wi-fi street.

Whereas battery charging instances are getting better every year, it’s nonetheless essentially the most limiting issue relating to the acquisition of an EV. The Indiana Division of Transportation (INDOT) has determined to sort out that by burying electrified wire coils that create a magnetic subject alongside the street floor, mimicking the best way wi-fi charging stations for tablets and telephones are designed.

As a way to use the roads, vehicles can be fitted with a receiver coil to choose up the cost as they go alongside, and turning into magnetized, draw electrical energy from the coils themselves. How awesome is that!

2. Up next… 12 year old makes £290,000 from NFT’s!

A 12-year-old boy from London has made about £290,000 during the school holidays, after creating a series of pixelated artworks called Weird Whales and selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

With NFTs, artwork can be “tokenised” to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought and sold – you may remember this from a previous blog post of mine.

They do not generally give the buyer the actual artwork or its copyright.

Benyamin Ahmed is keeping his earnings in the form of Ethereum – the crypto-currency in which they were sold.

This means they could go up or down in value and there is no back-up from the authorities if the digital wallet in which he is holding them is hacked or compromised.

He has never had a traditional bank account! Crazy – right?!

“It was a little bit of a fun exercise – but I picked up on really early that they were really receptive to it and they were really good,” Imran said. 

“So then we started getting a little bit more serious – and now it’s every single day… but you can’t cram this stuff, you can’t say I’m going to learn coding in three months.” 

The boys did 20 or 30 minutes of coding exercises a day – including on holiday, he said.

So there you go… a 12yr old who’s made £290,000 from NFT’s and wireless charging for electric cars!

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Week in Review

Week 23… 2021!

So on Friday, the Euro’s (Football) kicked off! Whilst I’m not going to go into the matches, how well Italy played etc… one thing that caught my eye was the little remote controlled car that brought the football to the ref at the start!

It was all because VW are the sponsors – and with their new range of ID (electric) cars, what a perfect way to get the message across! (In my opinion – great bit of marketing and advertising!)

With that… let’s speed up, and drive onto our Top Two Tech Stories of the week!

  1. First up… Facebook and their Smartwatch!

Rumors of Facebook’s development of a smart watch have been around for a few months, but recent stories have given use more details on the project. The watch, allegedly planned for summer 2022, is said to feature two cameras – one forward-facing, for video calls, and a second on the back.

The idea is that the unit can be easily removed from the wrist and used in much the same way as a phone camera. The images can then be uploaded straight to either Facebook, Instagram or shared on WhatsApp. Either through your phone’s connection or using an eSIM.

The Facebook watch is due to feature a heart rate monitor and fitness features to rival the likes of Apple and the now Google-owned Fitbit. Rather than being a premium device, it is expected to retail around $400 (£282/AU$516) and comes in a choice of black, white or gold.

2. Up next.. flying taxi service from Virgin!

Virgin Atlantic is exploring whether it could launch a flying taxi service as part of a partnership with Bristol-based Vertical Aerospace.

The airline suggests electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOL) could fly from towns to major airports.

Vertical Aerospace is conducting test flights of its aircraft this year and continue to test to see if the idea, can in reality, take off.

It has proposed that an eVTOL aircraft could pick people up from a city such as Cambridge and fly them to a major airport such as London Heathrow.

Vertical Aerospace says its VA-X4 craft will be able to carry four passengers and a pilot up to 100 miles, as well as being emissions-free and quieter than a helicopter.

In fact the company claims it will be “near silent” when cruising and it has already partnered with American Airlines and Avolon, an aircraft-leasing company.

So there you go – my Top Tech Stories from the week. All about Facebook moving into hardware and bringing out their first SmartWatch… on which you can take photos, and secondly – flying taxis… not a new idea, but one that’s fast becoming more of a reality!

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Week in Review

Week 22… 2021!

So here in the UK, we had a slight change in the weather. Meaning, the sun was out! I know… crazy! I say, finally! The weather was lovely for a few days and this morning – we’ve had some light rain – that’s ok, it’s good for the grass!

Anyway, so much has been happening this week… so let’s not waste any more time on the weather and deep dive right into it!

  1. Up first we have Microsoft Windows 11

Microsoft has been teasing a “next generation” of Windows for months now, but new hints suggest the company isn’t just preparing an update to its existing Windows 10 software, but a new, numbered version of the operating system: Windows 11.


The software giant announced a new Windows event for June 24th yesterday, promising to show “what’s next for Windows.” The event invite included an image of what looks like a new Windows logo, with light shining through the window in only two vertical bars, creating an outline that looks very much like the number 11. Microsoft followed up with an animated version of this image, making it clear the company intentionally ignored the horizontal bars

Up next… the future of cars (but not electric!)

2. That’s right… we’re talking 623 miles on a single tank of hydrogen!

Toyota says that if you drive normally, its hydrogen-fuelled Mirai can travel around 400 miles between fill ups. Drive much more carefully, though, and you could go further. Maybe a lot further. 

By doing just that Toyota France has driven a Mirai 623 miles on a lone 5.6kg tank of hydrogen, thereby breaking the Hyundai Nexo’s existing record for the longest distance travelled by a hydrogen-fuelled vehicle on a single tank by a whopping 72 miles. 

The company says the unmodified Mirai covered 623 miles, or 1,003km, on public roads south of Paris in the Loir-et-Cher and Indre-et-Loire regions of France. The distance covered and consumption, rated at 0.55kg of hydrogen per 100km, have been independently certified. 

Hydrogen cars are being marketed as an emissions-free alternative to petrol, and – if the hydrogen is produced with only renewable energy – that’s true, and in fact, is probably better for the environment than EVs.

But there are two ways to create hydrogen. The first involves mixing fossil fuels and water, which releases significant CO2 emissions. The second uses a large amount of electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. If this power comes from wind or solar sources then we are sitting pretty, but if it’s taken from the regular grid then you run into the same problems as charging your EV at home. Fossil fuels are still involved, just less visibly. But for some – it’s not all fossil fuels, there’s also sun, wind, etc… that can help you power your car.

So there we have it… Window 11 and Hydrogen cars travelling 623 miles on a single tank.

I’m not sure which is more exciting… to be honest, I’m not excited by either of these (smiley face). And I’ll tell you why…

Whilst Microsoft are bringing out Windows 11, and it’ll have lots of great new features – what will it bring that, people say wow. Do we really need windows? (Apple Mac users need not answer). I mean, we have apps for virtually everything. And of course, there’s a decline in laptop/computer sales.

And then the hydrogen cars. It’s taking a while for the electric charging points to be installed but the infrastructure is slowly getting there and there’s a lot of positive signs. To start building a hydrogen infrastructure will take a lot longer also!

Either way – Windows ‘most of us’ need, and as for the future of cars…. this is so interesting because we also have in the mix, self-driving capabilities, etc…

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Week in Review

Week 15… 2021!

Looks like the weather is finally picking up! With that, many in the UK enjoyed a beer or two, as the pubs and bars opened and this brought about some sense of ‘normality’… we still need to be careful, as I’m reading of a new variant in India of Covid-19 that could spread very easily and might already be here in the UK!

As it’s not confirmed that it’s in the UK, I’ll share my Top Two Tech Stories of the week gone!

  1. First up… Domino’s Pizza. Whilst I’ve had the debate if pineapple belongs on pizza or not (which I’ll save to resurrect another day), I’m sharing with you trials of Domino’s Pizza delivery via an autonomous vehicle!

Yes – we’ve seen and heard of these vehicles before. But like many companies – there’s always a fear of moving forward from an idea into a fully fledged pilot. However, Domino’s are not.

Nuro driverless cars in Houston this week as part of a pilot program, the company announced Monday, will deliver pizza’s! The company says “select customers” in Houston who make a prepaid delivery order from its store in the Woodland Heights neighborhood during certain dates and times can have their pizza brought to them by a Nuro R2 robot.

Here’s how the pizza deliveries will work: a customer places and pays for an order online from the Woodland Heights store and opts in to have the order brought by the R2. The customer receives a unique PIN via text alert along with updates on the vehicle’s location. When the robot car arrives, the customer enters the PIN on its touch screen, which opens the R2’s doors. Pizza ensues.

2. Next up – Apple and their Spring Event!

What’s in the Spring Loaded Event Bal?

Well… rumours are new iPads, new Apple Pencil and a few other bits. We don’t expect a new phone at this Event.

Refreshed ‌iPad Pro‌ models are expected to be the main event at Apple’s April event. Apple will overhaul the 11 and 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ models, but don’t look for major external changes — much of what’s new will be internal.


The third-generation ‌Apple Pencil‌ looks similar to the second-generation version, but with a glossy finish. It’s not clear what new features might be included if Apple does refresh the ‌Apple Pencil‌, but there have been rumors of a potential black model. 

We haven’t heard particularly reliable rumors about a new ‌Apple Pencil‌, so it’s not really clear if we’re going to see one at the April event.

Oh… and we might finally see the AirTags which we’ve been promised for a while!

For those unfamiliar with ‌AirTags‌, they’re small trackers that are equipped with Bluetooth and are designed to attach to important but easily lost items like wallets, cameras, and keys. ‌AirTags‌ (and the items they’re attached to) can be tracked right inside the ‌Find My‌ app alongside iPhones, iPads, and Macs, so you can keep an eye on all of your important belongings in one place.

‌AirTags‌ details have been leaking since the release of iOS 13, but we’re still not sure what the ‌AirTags‌ will look like. Based on some simple images found in iOS, they could be small, circular tags with built-in Bluetooth and ultra-wideband support.

So there we go… everything from Pizza’s to Apple’s this Sunday for you. Have a great week ahead, enjoy the Apple event and if you decided for a takeaway and live in Houston… why not have a Pizza!

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Week in Review

Week 7… 2021!

And so the year continues to go at some pace – it’s week 7, so much has happened so far, and I can only see more happening over the coming weeks and months! Sharing my top 2 from the week gone…

  1. Perseverance – That’s right… NASA’s Perseverance landed on Mars!!! So what’s so significant about this, well firstly… Perseverance has a large amount of data in its memory banks which it is gradually offloading to Earth and… the pictures it’s been sharing initially have been brilliant!!

Its initial mission will last one Martian year (roughly two Earth years), although it’s hard to see the agency not extending this if all the hardware remains healthy.

As well as searching for signs of life (Imagine… it finds clear signs of life… how awesome would that be!!), Perseverance’s other key objective is to select and package rock samples that can be brought back to Earth laboratories by later missions.

2. The New Service Stations! – Usually, when on a journey, and you need to fill up… you’d stop at your nearest service stations and fill up. However, times are changing.. on the outskirts of Braintree in Essex (UK), there’s a service station that is the first of it’s kind in the UK… that has space for 36 cars to charge at once!!

The super-fast electric forecourt will deliver 350kW of charging power – enough to add 200 miles of driving range in 20 minutes – to up to 36 cars at a time. And… it will use clean energy sourced from one of the UK’s first subsidy-free solar farms at Clayhill in Bedfordshire, overhead solar canopies, and a battery capable of storing enough energy to drive 24,000 miles.

It is the first of more than 100 electric forecourts that Gridserve, a clean energy company, plans to roll out across the country over the next five years as part of a billion-pound “sun-to-wheel” infrastructure.

So… looks like infrastructure is finally catching up! Yes, there’s a long way to go, but great to see this happening…

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Week in Review

Week 6… 2021!

There’s no stopping to 2021!…. It continues to move at some speed and keep giving!! – So what’s it given this week, well… here’s my Top 2 Stories!!!

1. Coca-Cola to start selling drinks in a paper bottle!!!

That’s right – the iconic drinks company, is going to sell (as part of a test) drinks in paper bottles! The company’s Brussels-based research and development team is working with Danish startup The Paper Bottle Company on this project, with an ultimate goal for bottles that ‘can be recycled as paper.’ – Let’s be honest, isn’t this awesome! – It’s no secret that the planet is filled with plastic waste, including consumer products like plastic bottles — ones quickly used, then discarded, often making their way into landfills, lakes, and the ocean… so this, paper bottle, is only a good thing!

The plastic alternative features a ‘bio-based material’ as the external carton-like barrier, one made using sustainably-sourced wood. The bottle includes a recyclable plastic lining that holds the beverage.

2. What did you have for breakfast this morning? What do you normally have? – Had Weetabix in a while?…

This week, Twitter went mental! – When Weetabix tweeted this…

And…. Everyone, when I mean everyone… Everyone! Got involved… all the big twitter folk/brands/organisations started tweeting…

… What a great marketing exercise! – It even made the news! – Good Morning Britain talking about it (and trying it)… to the House of Commons! That’s right… MP’s spoke about it!!!

So with that… there’s a couple of things we’ve learnt this week, firstly – we need to do more for our planet. So many companies are working towards sustainable solutions… but we must do our bit.

And secondly, Weetabix took Social Media Engagement to another level this week. I’m hearing, sales of Weetabix and beans have gone through the roof!

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Week in Review

Week 5… 2021!

Another busy week! – So much going on… everything from the Farmers Protest in India to how food prices are being increased in the UK! – it could be because of Brexit! (I think it is… especially hearing about how products and stock are being held at ports!!

So my 2 stories from the week…

  1. Nike Trainers – This is a new design of trainers that have been shared by Nike. You may be thinking, really… new trainers?… yes! – they are very easy to put on and take off. They have a hinge, so the shoe/trainer – effectively… splits in the middle, allowing easy access for your foot to come out… and go in! They are called the Nike GO FlyEase Trainer….

2. Tesla… no, I won’t be talking about Elon Musk taking a break from Twitter.. or the crypto currency he’s been endorsing… but more so, that the new steering wheel they’ll be having is legal in the UK!… AND…. be honest, how many of us, will think we are knight rider?! – Honestly, little things like these make me want to buy a Tesla… however, I did notice BMW have a ‘funky’ steering wheel in their new iX… all about the user experience!

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Week in Review

Week 4… 2021!

And so it continues! – The argument between the EU and AstraZenca was one of the highlights… appears that the EU didn’t sign in time hence the delay in orders… and then the unfortunate news that Covid-19 hit 100,000 deaths in the UK.

For me… here’s my Top 2 takeaways from this week…

  1. Drivers.. are you ready? – there may be a new Road Pricing structure brought into place! – This is because the treasury is losing £2.4bn of fuel duty (this was due to lockdown) but with the introduction of electric cars… it’s estimated that there’ll be a £40bn black hole! (that’s right… 40 BILLION!). So the think tanks are looking at charging drivers per mile (they drive), and other options. Either way… be ready for a ‘new type of tax’ for drivers, as we try to go green!
  2. Get comfortable… Boris announced that schools will not open till 8th March (at the earliest). Looks like this new variant of Covid-19 is spreading alot quicker than anyone thought. So lockdown… may continue. Whilst the games on Kahoot, and the family video games may have dwindled… it’s important to keep talking. It’s looking that lockdown will be here for a while… so stay strong, keep talking – and if you have no one to talk there, there’s a number of organisations that you can reach out to. Please do share your thoughts with someone….

My Top Two takeaways…. Stay safe and make sure you talk during lockdown and as it seems to be staying for a while, please look after your mental health and whilst we’re not driving currently, be prepared for changes that are coming!

I did mention I’ll be starting my podcast again! – Glad to announce I have some lovely folk lined up!! So watch out when that is released…

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Week in Review

Week 2… 2021!

It’s all happening isn’t it! – But first things first, my apologies for not sharing my Friday Thought. I had a really busy week, and whilst I plan a lot of things, I just didn’t have enough time to get to releasing my Friday Thought.

But on a positive! – I’m on my second review of the week!!

  1. What’s WhatsApp? – That’s right!! This could be the norm in a few years. So…. WhatsApp released new ‘conditions’ if you want to keep using their platform. As you may know, they are part of the Facebook group – and whilst your messages are encrypted end to end, they want to gather some other data about you – and share it. Now for them, it’s all about the experience, but many have become scared, thought it’s violating their privacy and started to switch to Signal and Telegram. Whilst I’m not going to tell you what to do… there’s some great articles out there – and if you do want me to tell you what to do… WhatsApp me!
  2. China wants to build its own $306 billion use car market from scratch! Basically, they want to double the value of secondhand vehicle sales by 2025. Now China already has more then 270 million vehicles on it’s road… and estimated 15 million secondhand models were sold in 2019! Put some contrast on it… 173 people out of 1000 in China own a car… comparing that to the US, it’s 837. You can be sure to say, it’s all happening in China… wonder if the authors of AutoTrader are reading this?!

So here’s my top two stories of the week… I reckon it’s going to be a busy year, lots happening!! – and I’ll share my review of the week (or please get in touch with a better name!).

If you have any top stories to share – get in touch, or if there’s a particular topic you’d like me to share the latest on – happy to do so!

Till next week… stay safe, and take care!

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Week in Review

What a year… so far!

Wow… Can’t believe it. Only a week (and a bit) into 2021, and so much to talk about.

Let’s put aside everything that happened at Capitol Hill… (and the actions of Trump), and the vaccination roll out in the UK… (which is good), however this new strain of Covid isn’t…

And focus on a couple of things that have also hit the headlines.

  1. Elon Musk. Richest man in the World. Took over from Jeff (Amazon ) Bezos. Two reasons why I like this news… Firstly, he’s done well with Tesla, SpaceX and his other ventures – he’s truly believed in them and continued to pursue them! and secondly, he actively reached out to folk to ask how he can donate his money and/or put it to good humanitarian use!
  2. Hyundai and Apple. Getting together. To build an Electric Car… Apple have been trying for a while to get this project running, however, they’ve realised they need someone who has got the knowledge on cars. Step up Hyundai. They are doing very well at the moment. And when they announced they’re working with Apple, share price rose 20%! Why do I like this bit of news… well, it provides us options other than Tesla and a few others… and it shows you can’t do everything on your own, if you need help – ask for it! (no shame in asking for support).

I was thinking about replacing my Friday Thought with a round up, or at least 2 bits of tech/interesting news… however, I’ve been asked to keep the Friday Thought… so will slot this in elsewhere into the week!

Which takes me to my last point… what will 2021 bring?! We can clearly see the decrease in car sales (overall) however, the gap between sales of electric and combustion engine are closing in – meaning more electric cars are bring sold. Norway, however (with it’s Government grants, etc..) are the first country to sell more electric cars than petrol/diesel! (Well done Norway!)

Well, we’re on a lockdown for early part of 2021, and I don’t see much changing till Spring/Summer… which means, alot more homeworking, less travel and more hobbies? – of which, we all saw a number of people who took up their passions/hobbies and turned them into businesses! (which is great!) – some of you reading this and who follow me on social media, will know I joined the trend of baking. But with a slight twist, of doing vegan/eggless cakes. They came out quite tasty (not me just saying that!), and I started taking photos, sharing them on Instagram (@balsbakery), and started to get orders in! Been selling cakes, however – it’s probably something I won’t scale up into a business (just yet!) due to time…

So I’ll wrap up this Sunday Blog post with a few thoughts… 1. If you’ve got a passion, pursue it! and 2. This year, we’ll see a bigger shift towards more sustainable/environmentally friendly products (including cars).