Category Archives: Tech News

That Xmas Party – And the nightmare that followed

Tech News

Last night it was my work Xmas party.

It was not a heavy drinking party, mainly as I live miles away from the office (228 miles round trip) , so I was not drinking any alcohol.

The pre drinks and meal were super good and enjoyable. The journey home was not so good.

The M5 motorway. Hmmm. Some cars decided to crash into each other, causing an additional 2.5 hours delay. Then the M5 had roadworks in several places, one moving 3 lanes into 2, and further along 3 lanes into 1. Despite the time of night/early morning the chaos this caused was extreme.

After reaching the end of the M5 motorway. further road chaos occurred due to another accident which closed the A30.

Add up all the roadworks, accidents, road closures and then all the roadworks on the local roads, what should have been a 2.5 hour car journey was nearly double that.

Consequently, I have a migraine from hell, and its not from any alcohol. Tech news will be delayed today.

And one last thing, if you are in Bristol, and fancy a curry, the Urban Tandoor is exceptionally good. A high quality Indian restaurant. The Party Menu 1 is highly recommended.

Is it safe to use any of Yahoo’s services anymore? – Editorial – And How to Delete Your Account

Tech News

Reuters stated last night that Yahoo has disclosed another, yes another major data breach affecting 1 billion accounts.

Yahoo said the stolen user account information may have included names, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers.

I cannot believe that Yahoo has suffered another epic data breach, and is only just informing its members some 3 years later. It begs the question what other data breaches have occurred and whether or not it is safe to have or use any Yahoo services.

I have noticed that Yahoo mail on my iPad constantly requires the password to be re-entered and authenticated. This is a PITA to occur on such a regular level, but also makes me wonder if my yahoo account has been hacked.

My Yahoo account is historic and is linked to my Flickr account, which has all my photos, which also embed into gavinsgadgets. So to close down my yahoo account is not straight forward. However, my confidence is totally blown with Yahoo and I don’t feel they are looking after my data properly.

So to delete your account head over to this URL – https://edit.yahoo.com/config/delete_user

Amazon’s First Drone Delivery – Incredible but at what cost to the economy? – Editorial

Amazon, Tech News,

Amazon Prime Air Private Trial Flying-HIGH RES

Amazon revealed they have made successful deliveries by using a drone to two customers in under 30 mins from placing of the order. See video below.

Impressive for sure. This is a private beta test involving two people but this will expand to more and more people over time.

In terms of how the drones work and deliver the packages, this is a great use of technology. But at what cost does the technology come. Amazon made online shopping a thing. In the process high street shops couldn’t compete and started to close down. This trend is sadly continuing and ruining the communities and high streets. However, the flip side of the online boom are jobs in the warehouses and more delivery drivers being employed. (if you can call these types of jobs equal to the lost jobs)

If drones became more mainstream. delivery drivers will not be required. If Amazon replaces people in their warehouses with robots, the human being will no longer be required. So what will people do for work?

Slowly but surely, technology is replacing the workforce but there will come a point in time when people will not be able to find new jobs due to smart new technology. Then what do we do?

Gavin’s Gadgets is exactly 4 Years Old Today – Can you help?

Tech News

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Exactly 4 years ago today, I started gavinsgadgets to share my thoughts and opinions.

During this time, so many of you have helped gavinsgadgets with your comments, editorial, loan devices and more. In the last 4 years I have published over 5,000 posts, written nearly 350+ reviews covering phones, laptops, accessories, headphones, amps, connected devices, home automation, photography and more.

I am also thankful to you all for helping gavinsgadgets to continue to grow at an exponential rate. From writing on gavinsgadgets my YouTube channel has started to grow and attract many more subscribers. You can all hear my tones on various podcasts, mainly Tech Addicts and from time to time on the Phones Show Chat.

One thing I have endeavoured to do is keep advertising at an absolute minimal amount so that the content is not killed with unruly adverts.

So for the first time in years, I am asking if you would be kind enough to make a small donation to help with the running costs and to show your appreciation. No amount is too small. My Paypal link is –

https://www.paypal.me/gavinsgadgets

Thank you in advance.

Apple’s AirPods went on sale – Is Apple the largest headphone retailer now?

Android, Tech News

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Walk into any Apple Store and you will see an abundance of headphones for sale. You will also notice the huge range of dongles and adapters, making Apple potentially the largest dongle and adapter retailer in the world.

So now it’s Apple’s turn with headphones. After a considerable wait, at noon UK time yesterday, the Apple AirPods went on sale for £159. Not long after the 19th December 2016 delivery date shot up to over 4 weeks a few hours later.

With such a huge iPhone base, if 10% of iPhone users buy the AirPods, that translates into millions of headphone sales. Add to this the Beats range of headphones and other headphones sold by Apple, and suddenly it is easy to see how Apple is potentially the largest headphone retailer in the world.

Apple releases iOS 10.2, watchOS 3.1.1 and tvOS 10.1 – Details of the Key Changes & Improvements

Apple, Tech News, , , ,

Yesterday Apple released a wealth of software updates for its devices.

Apple TV and iPhone and iPad

TV (US only)

– Use Up Next to see the movies and shows you’re currently watching and pick up where you left off
– Get recommendations for new movies and TV shows in Watch Now
– Discover new apps and the latest iTunes releases in the Store
– Access the Library for your iTunes purchases and rentals

Emoji

– Beautifully redesigned emoji that reveal even more detail
– Over 100 new emoji including new faces, food, animals, sports, and professions

Photos

– Improves stabilisation and delivers faster frame rate for Live Photos
– Improves accuracy of groupings of similar photos of the same person in the People album
– Fixes an issue where Memories might generate a memory from photos of screenshots, whiteboards or receipts
– Fixes an issue where the camera would stay zoomed in after switching back from the Camera Roll on iPhone 7 Plus
– Additional support for RAW digital cameras

Messages

– Adds new love and celebration full screen effects in Messages
– Fixes an issue that sometimes prevented the keyboard from displaying in Messages

Music

– Swipe up the Now Playing screen to more easily access Shuffle, Repeat and Up Next
– Choose how to sort Playlists, Albums, and Songs in Library

News

– Stories you’ve saved for later now appear the new Saved section
– The best paid stories from channels you subscribe to will now appear in a dedicated section in For You
– It’s now easier than ever to get to the next story, just swipe left or tap Next Story while reading

Mail

– Fixes an issue that caused the Move sheet to persist after filing a Mail message
– Addresses an issue with long press activating copy and paste in Mail
– Fixes an issue in which the wrong message would be selected after deleting a Mail conversation

Accessibility

-Adds BraillePen14 support to VoiceOver
– Fixes an issue where the braille table could switch unexpectedly with VoiceOver
– Fixes an issue where sometimes Siri enhanced voices were unavailable to VoiceOver
– Fixes an issue where VoiceOver users could not re-order items in lists
– Fixes an issue where Switch Control was sometimes unable to delete Voicemails

Other improvements and fixes

– Adds notification support for HomeKit accessories including window coverings, occupancy, motion, door/window, smoke, carbon monoxide, and water leak sensors
– Adds notification support for HomeKit accessories when software updates are available to HomeKit accessories
– Improves Bluetooth performance and connectivity with 3rd party accessories
– Fixes an issue that could cause FaceTime participants to appear out of focus
– Fixes an issue that could cause FaceTime calls to appear with incorrect aspect ratio and orientation
– Fixes an issue that prevented some Visual Voicemail from completing playback
– Fixes a Safari Reader issue that could cause articles to open as empty pages
– Fixes an issue that could cause Safari to quit unexpectedly after marking an item as read in Reading List

If your iPhone is not receiving the new screen effects in iMessage, the fix is simple. Go to the iPhone settings app. Scroll down to messages. Turn off iMessage. Turn back on again.

Apple Watch

The Apple Watch got updated to iOS 3.1.1. Updating the Apple Watch takes the longest to complete out of all of the devices, around 30-40 mins, so make sure you are not in a rush.

The update includes –

– Support for unicode 9 emoji, as well as being able to select skin tones for certain emojis
– Fixes an issue that could prevent contact names from appearing in the Messages app and notifications
– Fixes an issue that could impact ability to respond to notifications
– Resolves an issue where the Stocks complication may not update on the watch face
– Fixes an issue that may prevent the Activity rings from displaying on the Activity watch faces
– Fixes an issue that prevented the dials on an analog watch face from appearing after changing the temperature unit in the Weather app
– Resolves an issue that could cause the Maps app to stay launched after navigation has ended
– Resolves an issue where the incorrect date could be displayed in the Calendar app month view

Zecti Aluminum Alloy Tripod Ball Head Review – Stunning Build & Precision

Photography, Reviews, Tech News,

Zecti Ballhead 6

Zecti is a small company, on a mission to expand into various different niches, one of which is camera tripods and mounts. I recently reviewed their 55 inch Aluminium tripod and was really impressed by the quality at a competitive price point. Link at the end of this post.

Zecti Ballhead 5

I have now have their Aluminium Alloy Tripod Ball Head, which simply oozes quality and precision. It retails for £39.99. It features separate adjustment knobs for different angle rotation adjustments and a scale to pan for 360 degree panoramic shooting. At the end of the post is a code with link to save a few pounds.

Zecti Ballhead 3

The Ball Head is made using CNC forging and an oxidisation anodised aluminum alloy body ensures the good payload performance and durability.

Zecti Ballhead 2

Other features of the ball head is horizontal adjustment locking system, levelling bubbles for precise framing, a removable quick release arca plate with a 1/4″ screw for easy and safe installation of the camera / 3/8″female screw thread for various tripods and a safety locking system. The Ball head diameter is 35mm with a max load of 15 kg.

Zecti Ballhead 4

The net weight of the ball head is 255g. When I removed it from the packaging, it felt strong and substantial. This is a beautifully made product and ideal for the keen photographer. Recommended.

Useful Links

Use the link below and enter code DSMS7835 to save 5%.

More information & the latest pricing on the Zecti Tripod Ball Head – Click HERE.
Zecti 55 inch Lightweight Aluminium Tripod Review – Click HERE.

Wileyfox Swift 2 Plus, BlackBerry DTEK 60 and Huawei Mate 9 – Phone Reviews

Android, Reviews, Tech News,

Wileyfox Swift 2 Plus, BlackBerry DTEK 60 and Huawei Mate 9 are 3 phones all in for review.

If anyone has any questions on any of these 3 phones, please let me know and I will try and cover them off in my main review.

At the moment, I am in the testing stage for these phones.

My thanks go to Clove Technology, http://www.clove.co.uk , for the Wileyfox Swift 2 Plus and BlackBerry DTEK 60. The Huawei Mate 9 is imported from abroad.

Samsung Note 7 – Preventing the Kill Switch Update from Samsung

Android, Tech News, ,

It should not come as a surprise that after Samsung issued a software update that restricted the battery to charging to 60% about a month ago, that it is now issuing the final kill switch mandatory update.

This final update will not allow the phone to charge or connect to any cellular network, wifi or use its bluetooth.

However, a brief look at XDA Developers in the Samsung Note 7 forum will reveal a percentage of idiotic users are still using their devices, and have installed software that circumvents Samsung’s mandatory software updates.

What is even more alarming is the process involved to circumvent receiving the updated firmware is a doodle to implement.

What I don’t understand is why anyone would still want to keep this phone? It is banned from all transportation, will never receive any security updates, and is dangerous to use and own. Anybody still keeping their phone is also putting other people at risk.

So if you know anyone who is still using their Note 7 or you are, please return it and switch it off ASAP.