Tag Archive for: Smart tech
Why Second-Hand Cars Are Perfect For Tech-Lovers
Tech-lovers beware: you’re making a massive mistake. When it comes to the car in your life, there is always the urge to go with a brand spanking new model. After all, they have the best gadgets and gizmos, the things that keep you awake at night with excitement. Who cares if they’re expensive? They’re worth every penny! At least, that’s how you feel now. Usually, tech-lovers change their minds when the realisation hits – used cars are as appropriate as new motors, and they’re cheaper.
Here are the reasons you should start looking at the second-hand market the next time you need a whip.
Used Doesn’t Mean Old
Sure, it might be older than something that came out this year, but it’s not ancient. Looking 4 Car Finance has lots of models on their lot at affordable prices, and most of them aren’t as dated as 2012. Anything that came out post-2010 is fair game because all cars come with cool tech gadget these days. Whether it’s a 69 plate or a 60 plate, you’ll get everything from an ABS to an in-car sat nav with Bluetooth sync capabilities. And, because the registrations are almost a decade old, the cost will be significantly lower.
You Only Need Certain Tools
Car manufacturers have us in a tailspin with the way they market their products and services. As a result, it’s not uncommon to think you need everything they have and to fob the base model off as insufficient. Of course, the reality is different. There is only a handful of equipment you need, and you can find a list of our very own on this How To Kill An Hour post. The things that make a difference to the driving experience, such as dash cams and auto energy braking, should be on your list and everything else can go.
They’re Installable
Okay, you’re a tech-lover so the idea of only using the necessary car tech is laughable. That’s fair. Still, there’s no need to fork out a fortune for a vehicle that’s overpriced when there is an affordable base model. Once you have a chassis, you can add to the skeleton of the car by installing the stuff you love. New brakes and a better suspension aren’t cheap, yet they’re more affordable when you do it yourself. And, the electricals are easy to get hold of and to install in the car’s interior. Essentially, you can do an Xzibit and pimp your ride!
Sometimes, Basic Is Good
Remember that pimped out cars make bad drivers. The next time you get behind the wheel of one without parking sensors, you should note how many times you back up without looking. It’s crazy. Plus, you might be a tech nerd but you’re also a car-lover and that counts for something. It means, deep down, that you love the sound of an engine and hitting the open road without any mod cons because it takes you back to a simpler time.
Used cars focus on the basics, and they get petrolheads’ hearts racing.
It’s “Game, Set, Match” For Tesla, Says Musk
Elon Musk likes to extol the virtues of his car company. But this month, the billionaire mogul has gone a step further, claiming that it’s “game, set, match” for the firm in the race to develop autonomous tech. Musk is convinced that no other players in the industry can catch Tesla in the race to develop cars that drive themselves, thanks to the company’s unique position.
Game, Set, Match Tesla
Musk points out that Tesla is the only company in the world to make cars, develop autonomous tech in-house and collect vehicle data. It is, in his opinion, a slam dunk, which means that Tesla will continue to outcompete the rest of the market for at least the next five years.
Credit: www.diggita.it/v.php?id=1623397
What does this mean for the “traditional” automakers like BMW and Ford? Are we looking at the end of the traditional auto industry as everyone switches to Tesla’s superior tech?
It’s worth pointing out that other players could cobble together some form of response. Ford, for instance, could team up with Google’s Waymo and start producing cars with the search giant’s powerful software onboard. Likewise, BMW could pair up with another third-party provider and install all of the autonomous apparatus it needs as the cars come off the production line. It wouldn’t take a genius to work out that part.
The Competition
But all companies, including Waymo, have a problem that Musk’s Tesla has solved: the data collection issue. Waymo, the second most driven AI system in the world, has collected about 10 million miles of real-world data through its various testing initiatives. Tesla, on the other hand, says that it has more than 2 billion, meaning that it just has way more data to train its algorithms.
The cars you can find on sites like Emerald House Of Cars today still offer some pretty decent autonomous technology. Many, for instance, offer lane assist, parking assist, lane warning, blind spot assist and smart cruise control. But these are low-hanging fruit: it’s relatively easy to make a car do what you want in controlled conditions and set pieces. It’s when the vehicle has to make decisions itself when things start getting complicated. Just reacting isn’t too hard, but being proactive is something that machines struggle to do.
How Long Before We Get Autonomy?
Will we get autonomous tech anytime soon? Musk seems to think so. In the interview in which he declared that it was “game, set, match” to Tesla, he said that his cars would be “feature complete” with regards to autonomous driving by the end of 2020, so about 18 months from now. That’s the point, he says, where he’d feel comfortable travelling in a Tesla autonomous vehicle.
That’s not to say, however, that regulators will agree. Tesla might be ready to go as early as next year, but regulators could spend upwards of a decade working out whether they think autonomy is a good idea. Many conservative regulators may always want a human in the loop. The delay could allow other manufacturers to catch up and overtake Tesla, which isn’t what the company wants.
Super High Tech Cruise With Le Champlain
Super High Tech Cruise in NORWAY!
We recently went on a trip around the Norwegian Fjords! Upon one of Ponant's most luxurious cruise-liners and it was amazing! That's not just the views of the Norwegian Fjords either. The Le Champlain cruise liner was absolutely breathtaking! So, check out the video of our trip above to truly get an understanding of how beautiful our time on the Le Champlain was.Read more & see some beautiful pictures of our time in Norway by in the first comment on this post.
Posted by How To Kill an Hour on Tuesday, 23 April 2019
We recently went on a trip around the Norwegian Fjords! Upon one of Ponant’s most luxurious cruise-liners and it was amazing! That’s not just the views of the Norwegian Fjords either. The Le Champlain cruise liner was absolutely breathtaking! So, check out the video of our trip above to truly get an understanding of how beautiful our time on the Le Champlain was.
We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and encourage you, our audience, to go on one of these cruises, no matter where you are travelling in the world, you will have an experience that will last a lifetime. The memories that you will make whilst on your travels will stick, it won’t be just another holiday, it will be an absolute life defining moment. You truly feel like you are a super star whilst traveling on this cruise liner. There’s a reason as to why Le Champlain got a lot of attention when it was first announced.
Le Champlain Luxury
Not only is it a beautiful boat it is environmentally friendly too. The rooms are elegantly designed, there’s spacious suites with fantastic large windows allowing you to take in the world around you. The lounge areas of Le Champlain are open planed too, so they open into the outside area. There are a total of 92 staterooms and suites which offer a truly unique experience whilst traveling upon this cruise liner. The Le Champlain, the second ship in a brand new series from Ponant. Truly embody the cruise line’s hallmark of having a subtle blend of refinement, intimacy and comfort.
If you have a passion for travel, we highly recommend travelling aboard the Le Champlain. It flies the French Flag with pride and provides such a pleasurable and intimate ride. Not only that but there is an ever increasing list of destinations that the Le Champlain travels to. Each retaining Ponant’s luxury service topped with ethnic-chic ambiance.
World Heritage Site: Norwegian Fjords
It is said that over 1000 people visit the Norwegian Fjords each year. Furthermore 10 cruise ships traveling through the beautiful are each year too! From 2005, the Fjords are protected under UNESCO (Meaning that it’s classed as a world heritage site: As defined by Wikipedia:
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) as having cultural,[1] historical, scientific or other form of significance, and is legally protected by international treaties. The sites are judged important to the collective interests of humanity.)
National Geographic Recognition
National Geographic gathered a panel of experts in 2006 to rank and reward the most popular of World Heritage Sites. It is here were the Norwegian Fjords were victorious! They ranked higher than the pyramids of Egypt and even the Grand Canyon!
The Beautiful Norwegian Fjords
Firstly, it’s very easy to see the beauty via gallery below! There are more than 1000 Fjords in Norway, all of which are along the beautiful coastline. A Fjord is a blue still lake, however, they consist of saltwater. Fjord’s are also described prolonged arms if the seas. At times, reaching deep inland with huge towering cliffs on each side. Many of the Fjords are intertwined. You can often sail through them and make your way back into the open sea. While many have described that visiting them can feel like they’ve visited a secluded universe! As a result the Norwegian Fjords have become both an important symbol of Norway and a very popular attraction for tourists.
Check out the gallery of our time in the Norwegian Fjords below! (Click the first image to enlarge it to get a real good look at how beautiful Norway is! Consequently, you’ll be able to get a good look at the Le Champlain! The boat was HUGE and had a very nice ride. Therefore we cannot be happier with our experience upon the Le Champlain)
Suggestions
Also, we’re very open to your suggestions. We want to be able to do things in your neck of the woods. Therefore we’re keen to hear from you guys! Where do you think the team should go next? Hit us up via our socials with the best places in the world to do some wild and exciting things. We’d love to hear your suggestions. The crazier and more exciting the better! Help us show off your area to the masses!
So, why not listen to the guys talking about this on the show my clicking here!
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Amazon workers allegedly have a chat room about ‘amusing’ recordings?!
Bloomberg have a report out that highlighted the human labour that goes into manufacturing and improving the Amazon Echo. Amazon have contractors and full time employees working on the Amazon Echo. They’re all over the globe and tasked with reviewing and transcribing clips. Clips that are of conversations between users and Alexa. According to the report from Bloomberg, humans are said to annotate interactions to help identify phrases. Phrases such as “Taylor Swift” that might otherwise be meaningless to the software.
“We only annotate an extremely small sample of Alexa voice recordings in order improve the customer experience. For example, this information helps us train our speech recognition and natural language understanding systems, so Alexa can better understand your requests, and ensure the service works well for everyone.
Employees do not have direct access to information that can identify the person or account as part of this workflow. All information is treated with high confidentiality and we use multi-factor authentication to restrict access, service encryption and audits of our control environment to protect it,”an Amazon spokesman told Bloomberg.
Amazon Echo Chat Room
According Bloomberg, as a result of collating all this data, Amazon workers have a chat room. This chat room is intended for asking for help if they can’t make out a word or phrase. However, allegedly, they also share “amusing” recordings. Furthermore, an Amazon worker, told Bloomberg that each member of the team will listen to as much as 100 clips a day. Clips that Alexa has mistaken or unintentionally activated. Bloomberg have reported that one of these workers will review as many as 1,000 clips in a day! (A full 9hr working day shift)
In cases where the Alexa has tripped unintentionally, there has also been some serious recordings. According to the report, two workers who have spoken to Bloomberg. Who believe they heard a sexual assault taking place. Furthermore another two workers told Bloomberg that they were given guidance not to intervene. As Amazon didn’t consider it the company’s place to intervene in cases like these.
Full report with Bloomberg here
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Nuki Smart Lock – Control your locks from anywhere!
Nuki Smart Lock – Safe and Smart?
The Nuki Smart Lock is here to revolutionise the home! Everything is going SMART in your home and there is going to be a smart revolution going to take over our homes in the coming months and years.Firstly we feel that 2018 will be the year that the smart tech will really start to become popular. Now the lock to your home is going smart and it looks incredible! There are quite a number of smart locks available and we are looking at the Nuki Smart Lock here at How To Kill An Hour.
The Nuki Smart Lock allows you to easily control your door using just your smartphone! The Nuki Smart Lock will unlock as soon as you leave your house and unlock automatically as soon as you arrive home. Controlled via the Lock n Go feature on the Nuki smart app or via a button on the smart lock. You don’t even have to physically unlock the door! So your keys and your smartphone will be able to stay in your pocket. So no more patting down to make sure you have got everything! You can even retrofit the Nuki alongside your smartphone to make it work with your existing door lock. You can even set up the Nuki Bridge (Sold Separately) to control your smartlock from across the road!
Furthermore an activity log feature from within the app, highlights a complete list of when users have locked and unlocked the door. Also you are able to manage the permissions of users, setting it to permanent use, recurring or just a one time use.
Additional Features
Furthermore Nuki Bridge allows you to also access and control your lock from the internet! Why? Partner has left their keys at work and needs access to the house? Check if your children arrived home safely?
Since not all of us have smartphones, Nuki have provided a solution. Sold separately the Nuki Bluetooth Fob allows you to also control the Nuki Smart Lock, giving it all the same features as the smartphone users, but in a fob.
Plus you don’t even have to start taking apart your door to fit the Nuki Smart Lock. It can easily be installed inside, or on top of the existing lock. Depending on the over hang of the lock cyclinder the lock can be clamped or glued to the door. Change your mind? The lock can also be removed and leave the door free of any marks or damage!
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Cozify
Do you own a lot of Smart tech but wish you had a single place to consolidate all of that information in one and control it all from one app or hub? Well check out Cozify! Watch the video above on how to get started with a Cozify and check out more information below!
- Cozify controls Sonos, Philips Hue, Osram Lightify, Foscam IP-cameras, Wemo and many more brands together with a single hub.
- It is easy for anyone to install, setup and use at home
- It has a market leading, intuitive rules engine giving you real home automation rather than simple remote control.
- Cozify is future proofed for all new technology standards with 5 radios: Zigbee, ISM band (433MHz), Z-Wave*, Bluetooth* and Wifi* (*hw-ready).
- Cozify already supports hundreds of devices from many different brands and will work with many more in the future.(Amazon)
To buy your own Cozify please click here!