Sky Soundbox

The Sky Soundbox is the piece of audio hardware to revolutionise your tv viewing experience! For £299 (£499 for Non Sky Tv customers) it’s the perfect piece of tech to compliment your Sky Q package.

Sky partnered with Devialet, who are one of the most innovative names in audio to bring you the Sky Soundbox. Combining the power of Sky Tv intelligence with Devialet’s incredible, groundbreaking acoustic technology. Together with Sky Q the Soundbox delivers crisp, crystal clear bespoke sound across all of the content you love. Sports, Music, Cinema, it can handle it and produce the very best audio experience to compliment the very best visual experience with Sky Q.

The Sky Soundbox brings immersive 360 degree’s of audio experience. Putting you at the heart of the action. Home cinema quality sound from a single speaker. Simply plug and play.

Sky Soundbox produces powerful bass, dynamic volume and huge power, all from a single box. Worried about the depth of the bass. There’s no need for an external subwoofer with the Sky Soundbox, so no need to worry! It is very intelligent and can adjust volume levels automatically to ensure 100% clarity.

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Red Dead Redemption 2: HUGE SUCCESS

We have part 2 and 3 of our mammoth Red Dead Redemption 2 impressions on our YouTube Channel!

Rockstar games always knock it out of the park when it comes to games, Grand Theft Auto is what they are most known for, however when Red Dead Redemption came out in 2010, it changed the game! Everyone has always wanted to be a cow-boy and Rockstar made everyone’s dream come true! Now, 8 years later, Rockstar are revisiting the Red Dead universe in Red Dead Redemption 2. With over $725 million in worldwide retail sell-through during its first three days, Red Dead Redemption 2 is the second-highest grossing entertainment launch of all time next to Rockstar Games’ previously released title, Grand Theft Auto V, which achieved over $1 billion in retail sell-through in three days

Red Dead Redemption 2’s list of initial benchmarks include:

  • Biggest opening weekend in retail sell-through across all entertainment releases;
  • Second biggest launch (three days) in retail sell-through across all entertainment releases;
  • Biggest entertainment launch of 2018;
  • Most pre-ordered full game ever on PlayStation Network;
  • Biggest day one full game sales ever on PlayStation Network;
  • Biggest first three days full game sales ever on PlayStation Network.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is Rockstar’s first game that is built from the ground up for the latest generation technology. Bringing with it huge and expansive landscapes and intricate story telling to rival many movies. Making it even easier to experience what it was like to live as an outlaw in a notorious wild west gang.

Game Info

America, 1899. The end of the wild west era has begun as lawmen hunt down the last remaining outlaw gangs. Those who will not surrender or succumb are killed. 

After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him.

From the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America at the dawn of the modern age. (Amazon/Rockstar)

Buy Red Dead Redemption 2 here!

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Apple October Event

Apple October Event: Mac Creativity

Apple today have announced a plethora of new pieces of hardware designed with the creative in mind. The Apple October Event focused on the creative people of this world and how Apple are at the forefront helping them achieve their goals. We saw brand new Macbook Air, Mac Mini and iPad Pro’s. These update’s weren’t minuscule, they were HUGE and will help creatives big and small around the world.

Mac Mini

New Mac Mini

Mac Mini got a huge upgrade in performance. The Mac Mini now comes with quad and 6-core processors, up to 64gb memory and up to 2TB of all-flash storage. Therefore increasing the speed to up to 5 times faster performance than the previous generation.

 

 

 

 

Mac Mini: Display

The quad-and 6-core 8th generation Intel Core processors with up to speeds of 4.6GHz and Intel UHD graphics is responsible for this massive increase in performance. As a result rivalling many larger, more powerful machines. Allowing users to perform tasks such as video editing, software development and photo editing at a much faster rate than previously.

Mac Mini: Lots of ports!

 

 

 

 

Mac Mini is not shy of ports either. It has 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports, each with double the performance of the previous Mac Mini. It can connect to high speed storage, 4K & 5K Thunderbolt displays and output video in three different formats. The Mac Mini also has a HDMI 2.0 port, 2 USB-A ports, an audio jack and 10gb Ethernet ports.

The Mac Mini starts at £799 is available to order from today (Oct 30th 2018) and ready to pick up from November 7th 2018. (Apple)

 Macbook Air

Apple have announced a new version of the Macbook Air to replace the current Macbook Air. This new Macbook Air features slimmer bezels on a stunning 13-inch Retina display, Touch ID and the latest processors. Making the worlds most loved notebook, the Macbook Air, even better!

The display on the new Macbook Air has over 4 million pixels of resolution, making text and images look sharp and stunning. Apple have even managed to include a FaceTime HD Camera in the small bezels, three camera array and making it perfect for Group FaceTime. Macbook is now more secure than ever and includes Face ID, built right into the keyboard. Unlock your Macbook Air, authenticate purchases using Apple Pay and your identity.

 

The keyboard has been improved to share the same quality keyboard than that of Macbook and Macbook Pro. But it’s in it’s 3rd generation, with a slight improvement on the ones in the Macbook and Macbook Pro’s. Furthermore the Macbook Air’s trackpad has also been improved. Pressure sensing capabilities and haptic feedback on a 20% larger trackpad offering a quieter and more capable trackpad experience.
Audio experience on the new Macbook Air has also been improved seeing a 25% loudness imcrease and 2x more bass than the previous generation. The Macbook Air also comes with 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports. Allowing connections to external storage, docks for additional ports and 4K and 5K displays.
MacBook Air is available in three gorgeous finishes — gold, space grey and silver. Starting at £1,199 it’s available to order from today October 30th and pick up from November 7th. (Apple)

iPad Pro

The iPad Pro has seen an incredible upgrade, marking the biggest change to iPad ever. The display has been transformed into a beautiful edge to edge Liquid Retina display. It now includes Face ID, USB C and out performs many PC laptops. Furthermore there are updates to Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard Folio. The second generation Apple Pencil now connects to the iPad Pro magnetically, wirelessly charging at the same time. The Smart Keyboard Folio has a brand new design that’s adjustable for added versatility. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The display on the iPad Pro is now edge to edge Liquid Retina Display, made capable by the rounded corners that follow the curves of the iPad Pro’s unibody enclosure. It is Apple’s brightest and most colour accurate iPad display ever. Featuring wide colour support, True Tone capabilities and anti-reflecting coating for natural, accurate viewing experience. Either inside or outside viewing. ProMotion tech automatically adjusts the display refresh rate up to 120Hz for ultra smooth scrolling!

 

 

 

 

The new 11inch iPad Pro packs a bigger display but on a smaller form factor than the older 10.5inch model. The larger iPad Pro has the same inch screen as before (12.9″) but also on a smaller form factor. The size difference between current and previous generations? 25%! Both models are an

incredible 5.9mm thin. The thinnest iPad ever.  FaceID comes to iPad and it is designed to work in landscape mode, upside down, there is no wrong way to hold the iPad and FaceID will work no matter what. USB-C replaces lightning connector. USB-C offers power charing for the iPhone, supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 for high bandwith data transfers between cameras and musical instruments and connect to external displays up to 5K.

 

 

The new 11inch / 12.9inch iPad Pro’s are available to order today, October 30th and ready to pick up from November 7th. The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at £769for the Wi-Fi model and £919 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at £969 for the Wi-Fi model and £1,119 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model (Apple)

Apple October Event Bonus: iOS12.1

iOS 12.1 is avaiable from today, Tuesday October 30th 2018. Bringing with it a plethora of new features. Such as Group Facetime and 70 new emoji to iPhone and iPad. Dual Sim is now turned on and depth control is available to use in camera preview, as well as post production. This is available to iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR users.

Group FaceTime

Facetime has got a HUGE update, allowing users to call from 2 to 32 people at once. You can use all the same camera effects that you can use in messages in Group Facetime. Such as stickers and filters. Even use the brand new Memoji! Not forgetting Animoji either! Users can choose to join a group facetime call with audio or video from iPhone, iPad and Mac.

There are also a bunch of other advancements to Facetime coming aswell!
  • Automatic detection of active speakers: Facetime will now use on-device intelligence to display the most prominent speaker on the call. Automatically bringing the person who is talking to the forefront of the screen. Furthermore a users Facetime box will change depending on how active they are during the call. This is based on the duration of speech, how loudly they talk and even how much motion they use when talking. Those who aren’t talking will be placed at the bottom of the screen. Tapping will bring a participant to the front.
  • Ringless notification: When calling more than one person, FaceTime displays a notification that lets you instantly join a call without being disruptive.
  • Messages integration: If you are in a group chat, Group FaceTime is integrated directly into the messages. So you can host a group call from right within the chat. If people within the chat have already started a group call, it will show as active within the message thread.

Emoji

There’s 70 brand new emoji on it’s way to iPhone and iPad with iOS 12.1. Including characters with red, grey and curly hair, bald people get the emoji treatment too! There are some more emotional smiley faces and several new animal, sport and food emojis.

(Apple)

 

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LaunchPod

LaunchPod

Launched by podcasting heavyweights Acast and audio production giants WiseBuddah, Launchpod aims to find the UK’s next hottest podcast! Our very own Marcus Bronzy is on the LaunchPod shortlist for his Podcast ‘The Switch”

The Switch – Marcus Bronzy

Marcus’ podcast finds human stories in the world of technology, focusing on the people who are using tech to “switch things up” in the world we live in, and the way tech affects our everyday lives. Marcus is a TV, radio and podcast presenter and producer.

(LaunchPod)

Furthermore, it’s a super cool initiative which gives people the chance to create podcasts and share them with a much wider audience with Acast/WiseBuddahs help!

So, What was the competition?

Each semi-finalist will work with Wisebuddah and Acast to produce a pilot episode.

These three pilots will be made available on Apple Podcasts, the Acast app and other podcast platforms. While listeners will vote for their favourite. The listener vote will be considered by the judges and a winner will be announced.

The winning podcaster will work with Wisebuddah to bring the first series of their production to life! They will host their podcast on Acast and receive launch, content, artwork and promotional support from the Acast team.

(LaunchPod)

Consequently, below are the other wonderful entrants. There are some awesome content ideas here!

On Things We Left Behind – Surer Mohamed

Surer is the daughter of refugees who were forced to leave their home during the Somali Civil War – this is what inspired her podcast idea, a story-driven podcast that explores the scars of war, what it means to lose a home, and how to rebuild. Surer is a PhD Candidate in Politics and International Studies at Cambridge University, where she researches post-conflict reconstruction.

The Boy Problem

 Zachary Fortais-Gomm and Elizabeth Campbell

The Boy Problem is an audio drama thriller exploring masculinity in modern society created by Zachary Fortais-Gomm and produced by Elizabeth Campbell. Zachary is a writer, director and the mind behind The Orphans podcast. Elizabeth is a barrister and has been instrumental in podcasts such as Victoriocity and Wooden Overcoats.

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Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2

Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 + SuperAmp

Are you ready to get an advantage over your gaming competitors? Turtle Beach have announced something that may just help you do that. The Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 + Super Amp gives users powerful amplified professional grade sound, unmatched comfort and app based controls to their audio. This incredible audio headset for gamers was developed in collaboration with top level E-Sports teams. Such as Optic Gaming, Splyce and the Houston Outlaws.

“The Elite Pro 2 + SuperAmp is the perfect successor to the original Elite Pro, once again offering gamers our signature professional-grade audio performance and unmatched comfort, now paired with a revolutionary new way to connect, amplify and control their audio….We designed the Elite Pro 2 + SuperAmp in collaboration with some of the world’s best pro gamers, so if you’re a serious player looking to get an edge on the competition, you owe it to yourself to check it out because this headset is built to help you win.”  Juergen Stark, CEO, Turtle Beach.

“Working closely with the teams as well as being a coach on the front line myself, there are crucial features we need in a headset to be at the top of our game. The Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 + SuperAmp checks all of those boxes for us: crisp voice communication, detailed sounds, and our own customized EQ so we always have the audio advantage over our competition.” Nick “Ashes” Ridgeway, Assistant General Manager of OpTic Gaming 

Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 Headset

The Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 headset has top level audio and is driven by their own E-Sports tuned 50mm Nanoclear speakers. The microphone on the Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 is highly sensitive and is noise cancelling for crystal clear communication. It is also removable for gamers wishing to use the headset as a pair of headphones. The design of the headset is amazing too, it has a durable metal headband supported with a suspended pad, the design is even glasses friendly! The ear cups come with magnetic AeroFit™ cooling gel-infused memory foam ear cushions featuring athletic sport fabric and synthetic leather. While providing comfort for long periods of play, it also adds to the noise cancelling capabilities of the headset.

SuperAmp

The SuperAmp adds a brand new way for players to control audio. The one dialled design brings powerful amplified Windows Sonic for Headphones surround sound. It even adds DTS Headphone:X 7.1 surround sound capabilities! The SuperAmp connects to the Turtle Beach Audio Hub on iOS/Android devices via bluetooth. Where gamers are able to adjust a variety of audio settings for the SuperAmp. Such as Game/Chat Audio, Variable Mic Monitoring, Dynamic Chat Boost, Superhuman Hearing and other EQ presets. While gamers are also able to adjust the LED colour and lighting mode and streaming specific audio settings as well.

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Fishing Sim World

Fishing Sim World: Let’s fish!

Ever wanted to go fishing but don’t want to sit outside and get all cold and wet? Or are you a lover of fishing and wish you could fish more often? So, there’s a solution for both of those types of people! An incredible fishing game, but not an arcade, the most authentic and realistic fishing simulation ever made. It’s called Fishing Sim World and it’s available for Xbox One, PS4 and PC NOW!

The game is made by a team of passionate anglers and it captures what the life of a fisher is all about. In absolute incredible detail too! Fishing Sim World features realistic game physics, accurate fish AI and even comes with fully licensed kit! Including your reels, rods and lures! Fish on a boat and activate sonar to make it easier to find the perfect spot to fish!

Furthermore, you don’t have to just fish in your local lake anymore, travel to the US/Europe and fish in beautiful lakes around the world. There’s an option to fish amongst your friends competitively, it’s not all on your own! Fishing Sim World comes complete with leaderboards and tournaments in ‘The Dovetail Fishing League’ fish against other anglers around the world and become the ‘Angler of the Month’

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Episode 301 Gadget Show’s Georgie Barrat

Episode 300 Scroobius Pip

Taboo

Taboo Tv Series

Taboo is a very successful drama, produced by movie heavyweight Ridley Scott, that was shown on the BBC and starred movie star Tom Hardy. It’s about an adventurer called James Keziah Delaney, who returns to London during the War of 1812. His mission? To rebuild his late father’s shipping empire. However, both the government and his biggest competitor are in his way. They want his inheritance at any cost. Yet, a cost that includes murder. (IMDB)

Taboo the show was created by Steven Knight, Tom Hardy himself and his late father, Edward Hardy. While, the show is based on a story that was written by Tom and Edward Hardy. Knight who worked together with Tom Hardy on films such as Lock and Peaky Blinders is also credited as a creator of the hit show.

Premier and Reviews

The show premiered on the BBC on BBC One in the UK on 7th January 2017. Yet, in the United States it was shown on FX 3 days later on the 10th January 2017. It was met with positive reviews with many critics praising Hardy’s performance and the slow burn aspect of storytelling. Consequently on Rotten Tomatoes the show got an approval rating of 78% based on a total of 45 reviews. The reviews generally state that the show began sluggishly, with a mysterious, dark and often brutal representation of the era of 1812.

(Wiki)

Taboo received very positive reviews from the public and we cannot wait for series 2! As a result, Taboo is currently scheduled for a second series and is said to be planning for a third!

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The Gadget Show

The Gadget Show Series 28

So, The Gadget Show is all about, you guessed it, Gadgets! It’s weekly on Channel 5. Furthermore, the show, which is broadcast on Channel 5, is currently presented by Craig Charles, Ortis Deley, Jon Bentley and Georgie Barrat. 

The show is 60 minutes long and features discussions and reviews on the latest pieces of technology such as films, cameras, video games, gadgets and gizmos, vehicles, future tech, cinema you name it The Gadget Show covers it!

Guinness World Records

While the show focuses on gadgets. The show is also responsible for a lot of tech related Guinness World Records as well!  Below are all the records they’ve completed:

  • Set the fastest speed reached by a slot car racer achieved by Dallas Campbell while filming for The Gadget Show.
  • The fastest speed reached by an internal combustion powered radio-controlled model car. It is 137.86 km/h (85.66 mph), controlled by Jason Bradbury. On the set of The Gadget Show in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK, on 29 October 2008.
  • Fastest speed in a water jet–powered car is 26.8 km/h (16.65 mph) and was achieved by Jason Bradbury (UK) on the set of The Gadget Show at Wattisham Airfield, Ipswich, UK, on 15 March 2010.
  • The largest game of Tetris measured at 105.79 m² and was played on The Gadget Show in Birmingham, UK on 15 September 2010.
  • The heaviest machine moved using a brain control interface weighs 56.2 tonnes (61.95 tons), as demonstrated on the set of The Gadget Show, Studley (UK) on 17 March 2011
  • The fastest speed attained on a jet-powered street luge is 115.83 mph (186.41 km/h). This was achieved by Jason Bradbury (UK) on the set of The Gadget Show’s 200th episode. 
  • The longest loop-de-loop performed by a radio-controlled car at a diameter of 2.3 m.

While, The Gadget Show is also famous for it’s HUGE competitions. Consequently featuring a huge amount of tech gadgets that viewers can win! Seriously there is a LOT of prizes to be won on the show! So, viewers may need storage to keep it all!

(Wiki)

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