Swedish Commuters Treated to Free Light Therapy at the Bus Stop

December 18th, 2012Curious Stuff No Comments

Many of us here in the UK might be shocked to know that other countries in Europe have it tougher in the winter as far as inclement weather goes, and Sweden is one of them. Scandinavian counties suffer some of the coldest winters in Europe and still manage to keep their cities moving, and perhaps part of that is down to the ingenuity of the likes of Swedish energy company, Umeå Energi.

The firm, based in the Swedish city of Umeå, has decked thirty bus stops with mood-lifting light therapy installations to help brighten the day for Umeå’s commuters. But what’s it all about?

Umeå is around 373 miles north of Sweden’s capital, Stockholm. During the winter months, the sun typically sets at around 2PM, averaging 4.5 hours of daylight, meaning many Swedes spend their entire working day out of the only natural source of light available. It’s hoped the light installations will combat low winter moods.

UK tech news website, Wired.co.uk, reported the Swedish energy firm wants city residents to feel valued and cared for through the toughest months of the year. But what about here in the UK?

UK gadget company, Money4Machines, said a similar project here in the UK is unlikely to take off.

“Here in the UK, we actually average a pretty decent amount of daylight during the winter, especially if it’s a bright day. Here in the office we try to use natural light as much as possible, especially for our teams processing ‘sell my mobile‘ requests looking at computer screens. We buy energy efficient light bulbs and try to create an office lighting concept that minimises shadow and glare.”

OS 6 Maps Strands Multiple Aussie Travellers in Wilderness

December 14th, 2012Curious Stuff No Comments

It’s been great poking fun at the flaws in Apple’s OS 6 mapping software, not least because of Apple’s previously resplendent reputation when it comes to pretty much everything that falls from the great tech firms Apple tree!

But for one Australian couple, an OS 6 Maps error could have led to a tragic and humourless end. The incident has since led Victoria police to brand the mapping software a public hazard. The Maldura police department issued this statement.

 

“Local police have been called to assist distressed motorists who have become stranded within the Murray-Sunset National Park after following directions on their Apple iPhone. Police are extremely concerned as there is no water supply within the Park and temperatures can reach as high as 46 degrees, making this a potentially life threatening issue.”

The issue arose in numerous separate cases when travellers attempted to find the small town of Maldura. Apple Maps’ location for downtown Maldura was actually 70km away in the wilderness of Murray-Sunset National Park. Maldura police has since contacted Apple to formally request that alterations be made to highlight the remoteness of the area.

UK gadget company, Money4Machines, say an endemic over-reliance on GPS software cannot be ruled out.

“Here in the UK we’re always reading funny stories about folks getting their caravans stuck under low bridges or following GPS directions and ending up driving straight down an overflowing ford! It makes for great dinner guest chatter, but on another level it’s really a poor shot at common sense. We buy mobile phones and various other gadgets, and let’s just say it’s a rare handset that comes in without a well-used mapping app when someone wants to sell iPhone or other smart devices!”

Nokia to Release Free Mapping App on Rival Handset

November 28th, 2012Tech News No Comments

Since Apple set Google adrift and developed Apple Maps as the standard iPhone and iPad mapping software from iOS 6 onwards, the mapping app market has been given a breath fresh air as developers scramble to create better and better software to rival Apple Maps.

Nokia already powers maps run on Amazon tablets, Windows Phone devices, Yahho, Garmin sat-navs, Oracle services and around 80% of the built-in car sat-nav devices in the world.

The new Here Maps app will be free and will be available free on rival handsets like Apple iOS smartphone and tablets.

Money4Machines, a UK company offering sell for cash services on unwanted gadgets like iPhones, tablets and GPS devices, said the move is a clear and calculated attempt to expand Nokia’s furtive dominance in the mapping market.

“A lot of the people using Nokia software don’t necessarily realise the service is powered by the Finnish tech giant. Nokia’s spread in the maps market has been gradual and very effective. They’re in a superb position to publically bring out a free mapping app that appeals to users of rival handsets.

And as for the fact users won’t need to sell iPhone etc handsets and buy a Nokia device to access the software, well, that’s certainly something that appeals to our tech experts here in the office. It means it’s less likely you’ll have to sell mobile devices from a brand you love just to access software you love that’s only compatible with another handset.”

Forecasters say Here Maps is a clear play by Nokia to extend its reach in the mapping software market. It’s thought extending the service to rival platforms under the brand of Here (rather than Nokia) could make the software more attractive to rivals looking to adopt new standard software.

Blackberry Launches Free Calls on BBM Chat

November 27th, 2012Tech News No Comments

Last year, RIM announced it’s intention to withdraw the Blackberry range from the personal smartphone market, instead focussing on business clients and taking Blackberry back to the basic formula that first won the firm the lion’s share of the business communications market.

And now Blackberry are clearly taking steps to make their call tariffs more attractive by introducing free calls to Blackberry Messenger (BBM) The flagship messenger service already offers free text messengers as an alternative to paid messaging services. Already incredible popular with the business community, BBM’s new free calls feature is likely to shed an attractive light on the new Blackberry 10 OS when it arrives on 30th January.

UK gadget company, Money4Machines, said the number of customers looking to sell mobile phones from Blackberry in favour of upgrading to handset from a different developer is higher in the personal handset market.

“Since RIM announced its withdrawal from the personal handset market, we’ve seen a pretty varied response from our customers who are looking to sell Blackberry devices. Some are really disappointed, but most can see RIM’s point in terms of going back to basics.

Luckily for our customers, Blackberry devices that are well looked after can still fetch decent rates. Not usually as much as when folks sell iPhone handsets, but still a healthy amount. The addition of the free calls feature to current Blackberry devices will really drive their value in the sell for cash used gadget market, which is great for BBM users and for companies like us.”

Australia Abandons 5-Year Internet Filter Plan

November 26th, 2012Curious Stuff No Comments

The Australian government announced last week that a 5-year scheme to implement mandatory filters blocking child pornography and disagreeable content.

Critics of the proposals voiced concerns about the potential for Australia to enter the same arena of censorship as the likes of China. The filter would certainly have put Australia ahead of the U.S, which carries some of the strictest internet filters in the democratic world.

Australian Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, announced that ISPs will instead be required to block around 1,400 websites related to child abuse. The sites have been chosen with the assistance of Interpol.

“We’ve actually reached agreement with the industry to block child pornography and we think that is a significant step forward.”

UK gadget company, Money4Machines helps UK customers to sell mobile phones and unwanted gadgets at the best sell for cash online rates. They say many of the concerns with the original plan revolved around the government retaining too much power to control internet content.

“The problem with child abuse-related content is that much of it isn’t stored on the open web. A national web filter like the one planned would be unlikely to have the effect expected by advocates of the scheme.”

Supporters of the internet anti-censorship movement said abandoning the filtering scheme should be viewed as a victory for common sense.

More Businesses Leave BlackBerry

November 9th, 2012Tech News 3 Comments

 

 

RIM is not having a good 2012. Alongside announcing it’s withdrawal from the entertainment smartphone market, RIM was hit with a 94% share devaluation from its highest point in 2008. RIM CEO, Thorsten Heins, announced the company’s intention to focus on the business market, taking BlackBerry handsets and tablets back to what made them so successful – business-orientated users.

But it seems BlackBerry’s base could be shakier than RIM expected. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) is the latest organisation to drop BlackBerry handsets in favour of another device. In this case, the iPhone. The agency reported in late October it would be buying iPhones for 17,600 employees at a cost of $2.1 million (£1.3 million)

Despite Samsung and Apple remaining at loggerheads, it’s not likely to be Samsung picking up the slack in the market. According to ComputerWorld UK, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is currently not secure enough for business use. Analysts with Context Information Security pitted the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the iPad 2 and BlackBerry Playbook against one another, and it was the Samsung device that fell far, far behind in terms of security.

UK gadget company, Money4Macines, say plenty of business customers sell Samsung and BlackBerry devices to fund an upgrade to Apple.

“Apple have really been pushing the business angle in recent years with apps like Keynote, Pages and Numbers, and services like Dropbox.

When business customers sell mobiles and tablets through our site, upgrading to an Apple device is often the reason. Regular customers want to sell Nokia, HTC, Samsung etc to fund upgrades that are typically brand loyal. It’s business customers wanting to sell mobile phones and tablets who seem to be making the switch most often.”

The release of the iPad Mini could be another nail in the coffin for RIM. Poor sales of the Playbook and the incredible popularity of the iPad Mini could indicate RIM’s foundation business customers have finally been tempted by the Apple.

Women Gamers Jam in the UK

November 8th, 2012Curious Stuff 1 Comment

The anonymity of online gaming makes it virtually impossible to accurately say how many gamers out there are women. Urban legend puts the figure up in the rafters, but a study published by 1UP.com found around 64% of gamers were women back in 2006. As for today, it’s likely that figure hasn’t fallen. Gaming has grown in popularity as the mobile gaming world has expanded, and women are very much along for the quest!

The XX Game Jam’s first event was held in London’s east end at the end of October. Organisers Helen Kennedy and Debbie Rawlings believe it to be the first event of it’s kind in the UK. Participants worked in teams to create games on the subject of ‘clockwork’

Speaking to the BBC, organiser and co-founder of Women in Games, Helen Kennedy, said,

“The whole idea of an all-female game jam is something I discussed a while ago. I took the idea out to Canada and pitched it for funding and they told me it couldn’t be done, the whole format of a game jam was somehow too masculine to be done with just women. I thought that was a rather challenging thing to say as I don’t believe in those sorts of categorisations.”

UK gadget company, Money4Machines, said folks looking to sell laptop, tablet and console devices aren’t just guys.

“It used to be that we’d get gamer laptops in from a predominantly male market. But in the last couple of years we’ve seen a huge boost in girls looking to sell consoles and gamer laptops – even gamer keyboards – through our site.

Online gaming is becoming increasingly social, and women are definitely needed in terms of software development and so on. It’s great to see an initiative like the XX Jam damning the idea that technology has to be pink and fluffy to attract women!”

4 Tips for Lowering Your Smartphone Data Bill

November 7th, 2012Tech News No Comments

Cutting bills is what the past few years have been about. If you’re not already full to the teeth with austerity tips, UK gadget company, Money4Machines, have come up with a few tricks for cutting mobile phone bills in the run-up to Christmas.

  1. Know what you’re using

It can be tough to keep tabs on data usage, especially when you’ve just received your first iPhone device and there are so many apps and perks to being a bona fide Apple user. But you really do need to try and understand your usage, e.g. how much of your data plan goes on streaming episodes of your favourite TV shows on the commute? How many Instagram photos can you upload?

  1. Turn off GPS and mobile data

Locations services are great for checking in on Facebook etc, but you’re likely eating up data by leaving them on all the time. Put the “settings” tab somewhere convenient and get into the habit of only using location services when you actually need them (this saves battery life too!)

  1. Try sticking to Wi-Fi

You may have decided to sell iPad first generations to fund an upgrade to a 3G or 4G device, but going back to classic Wi-Fi will definitely cut your data bill. Try to download updates via Wi-Fi too. Put some time into setting up automatic Wi-Fi connections in places you spend a lot of time – home, mate’s house, etc.

  1. Push for unlimited data

Unlimited data typically comes with a “Fair Use” limit, but it’s pretty high. Companies like T-Mobile run unlimited data for most handsets, so you don’t need to sell iPhone fifth generations and downgrade to qualify.

Tech Firms Set for Merry Christmas from Kids Present Sales

November 6th, 2012Tech News No Comments

 

 

Remember when Christmas was all about going through the catalogues with a pencil and circling all the toys you wanted form Santa? Well unless Santa is working in cahoots with some of the worlds largest tech firms, it looks like most kids are skipping the middleman and asking for some of the top gadgets on the market in place of train sets and cuddly bears.

The Toy Retailers Association Annual Dream Toys Parade is a list of predicted Christmas sell-out kids toys – the must-have list for anxious parents to pour over before making their way to Toys ‘R’ Us with survival kits and sharp implements to mug fellow shoppers for the last Elmo or Furby!

But this year’s list includes the prominent presence of technologically advanced toys for children, including the LeapPad 2 by Leapfrog Toys, and InnoTab 2 by VTech.

UK gadget trade-in website, Money4Machines, say they’re already seeing parents looking to sell laptops and other unwanted gadgets to fund their children’s hi-tech Yule gifts.

“What we’re seeing is a lot of parents looking to maximise their kids’ potential in terms of technology. They don’t want to think ‘If I sell my laptop to buy an expensive Christmas present, will it still be used in a couple of weeks?’ They don’t want to waste money, and that means they’re usually very impressed with educational technology like the LeapPad and InniTab. It’s about finding toys that last and make a good investment, both financially and in terms of their kids’ development.”

Older iPhones Still Flying Off the Shelves

November 2nd, 2012Tech News No Comments

 

 

iPhone 5s are breaking sales records around the globe, and Apple is pretty much selling them as fast as they can make them. But UK gadget companies like Money4Machines report a steady market for second-hand handsets and brands new older models, too.

Recycling and trading in gadgets like mobile phones is something that’s really seen a boost in popularity over the past few years. In the beginning folks were selling their old Nokia 3210 for £5, but these days you can sell mobile phones, especially smartphones, at great rates.

The iPhone smartphone range is one of the top performing smartphone product lines on the planet, and there are plenty of folks who would be happy just to get their hands on an iPhone 4.

Money4Machines said,

“When folks arrive at our website and say ‘I want to sell my phone, its an iPhone’, we know we’re going to be able to offer them a great rate, even if it’s an iPhone 3G or another older model. We buy loads of second-hand Apple products, and pretty much all of them command very favourable rates for the seller.”

So, what happens to your old iPhone? A Money4Machines spokesperson said,

“Every gadget company is different. Some prefer older phones that can be stripped for their raw materials, others like mid-range phones that can be sent on to growing markets in developing economies like parts of Africa and India. High-end handsets like the iPhone aren’t usually stripped, but tend to be traded within the EU so folks who couldn’t afford the new handset can access a healthy, properly managed second-hand market.”

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