The Gadget Man - Technology News and Reviews

Apple has now officially announced that they are splitting the iTunes app into THREE different services in the next few months. The 3 apps will focus on Music, TV and Podcasts and will finally separate these services from the iTunes app which was initially written synchronise copy-protected music to and from the first iPods. Apple WWDC19 – Image Credit: Apple Inc Listen in to my interview wi...

In this episode, I talk to Matt Marvell at BBC Radio Suffolk about the SodaStream. The SodaStream is a fizzy drink machine which uses CO 2 gas forced under pressure into an attached bottle of fresh water. After fizzing has taken place, the user adds their choice of flavoured concentrate to the water and thus create their own home-made carbonated drinks. SodaStream SodaStream was popular in the &#8...

Now we have reached the third part of our Retro Gadget series, we go left-field by selecting something that has been a part of peoples dining rooms for many many years. Hostess Trolley Yes, I’m talking about the Hostess Trolley, a dining gadget that has been keeping our dinner party food warm for many years. Listen in to the podcast by clicking on the play button above and subscribe using yo...

In this podcast episode, I speak to Mark Murphy at BBC Radio Suffolk about reports that Smart Speakers are now taking parents places by reading stories to children. Intelligent Smart Speakers are now taking over parental responsibilities in some cases. BookTrust surveyed 1000 parents and discovered that 25% have used Alexa or Siri to read stories to their children. Here I discuss the survey with M...

In the second of my 10 Retro Gadgets of the Week, I talk about arguably one of the most important inventions of the 20th century! Don’t forget to listen in to the podcast link above where I talk about the gadget and its functions. Sony Walkman The Sony Walkman was a portable cassette player launched in 1979, it started a revolution in personal audio cassette players and altered the listening...

This week begins a 10 week series of Retro Gadgets. Technology which has featured in my life and evokes childhood memories. Listen in on the audio recording above. I have included a surprise at the end which wasn’t recorded at the time.  If you grew up in the  ’70s or ’80s, you may have experienced some of these gadgets. You might be still using them or maybe they are gathering d...

Many of us will remember the halcyon days when upgrading our mobile phone handsets was a six-month event. No so now it would seem, instead, we are waiting much longer and are clearly looking for greater incentives to part with our beloved devices and even more importantly, our money. You can listen into my interview with James Hazell on BBC Radio Suffolk where I talk about why the smartphone marke...

It was great to be on BBC Radio Suffolk this morning, talking with Wayne Bavin about Gadgets used in the home. Following the first episode of Hard to Please OAP’s on ITV1, I spoke to Wayne about Gadgets which are used regularly and less regularly in our homes. It was fun to chat about Soda-Stream, Amazon Alexa, Sandwich Toasters, Waffle Irons and all the good and bad tech now found in our ho...

It only seems like yesterday when I was talking about the World Wide Web turning 25 years old and now before we know it, it’s now 30 years since the first HTML web page was authored and published by Sir Tim Berners-Lee. The Web is, without doubt, the greatest invention of all time. It has made our planet smaller, brought together people from all walks of life and from every corner of the glo...

Who would have believed that at the dawn of the World Wide Web 30 years ago that almost all of our lives would be controlled via logins and passwords exchanged over the internet? Whilst it is incredibly convenient to be able to access our bank accounts, insurance policies, email, social networks, discussion forums and many many other services. It is also very important to remember that ALL of the...

For the last 24 hours, there has been collective panic across the digital world! Was this panic caused by the continued disaster that is the Brexit negotiations and repeated House of Commons votes? No, it was because the worlds largest Social Networks were failing all around us. Literally MILLIONS of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users were panicking at the loss or at least interruption of thei...

Some 30 years ago, I was inexplicably drawn into a high-speed car chase across my home town of Hitchin. When I left The Bird in Hand in Gosmore on that rainy night in 1987, I had no idea that the following 10 or so minutes would stay with me until now. In my case, I managed to ‘lose my tail’, but it has always troubled me how the Police would have viewed my plight at the time. Back the...

How many of us own and drive a vehicle with a keyless entry system? Well, it appears that many thousands of us that do have woken up this morning to a very worrying report from the General German Automobile Club (ADAC), In order to unlock your keyless entry vehicle, you simply need to carry your key-fob. As you approach the vehicle, it recognises the encrypted signal transmitted from the fob. This...

Earlier in the week, I spoke to Mark Murphy on BBC Radio Suffolk about the demise of the Yellow Pages directory. The Yellow Pages was always sat alongside the equally large Phone Book, but had gradually declined over the years since the introduction of the Internet and increasing dominance of search engines such as Google which has made searching for and finding businesses much easier and informat...

Last week, I spoke with James Hazell on BBC Radio Suffolk about the new film classifications and how they can be applied to online video streaming sites. I also discussed YouTube’s ban on videos that contain or encourage dangerous pranks that endanger people or could cause harm to people copying them. BBFC has revised it’s classifications Following a public consultancy of more than 10,...

As we enter the final year of the second decade of the 21st century, the smartphone will surely be considered the most revolutionary gadget of the last 10 years. Our phones are now firmly ingrained in our lives, joining us at home, at work, at play, at the dinner table, in bed, they come with us everywhere! Our lives are documented in detail, where we go, what we do, what we think and what we eat....

As the new year dawns, we again look back, but this time it’s more than 30 years to yet another audio format resurgence. Now that Vinyl has once again become freely available to the masses after being all but condemned by CD’s, MP3’s and then streaming music, another format becomes the trend of choice. Yes, we are now being encouraged to revisit the Cassette Tape! Another Hipster...

Another year passes and as we move into 2019 we can look forward to another year of unstoppable advances in technology. If I was able to predict upcoming tech, I’m happy to suggest that my number one for 2019 will be the folding mobile phone with potential devices from LG and Samsung already breaking cover in various forms. [videopress WcnyB1iG hd=”true” autoplay=”true&#822...

Not a day passes without one of our Facebook friends informing us of the hacking attempts, breached accounts or worse. Most of this information is incorrect, but of course, it is good for people to remain vigilant at all times. I spoke to James Hazell on BBC Radio Suffolk about Facebook ‘hacks’ and explained the reality that most of these are false. A great place to check for spam and...

Dashcams have officially become commonplace in society. As more and more drivers use our roads, the chances of accidents increase and being able to accurately document such unfortunate incidents has become more important than ever, especially with the rise in fraudulent claims. I spoke to Mark Murphy on BBC Radio Suffolk about the use of dashcams and also helmet cams for cyclists and my personal r...

Twenty years ago, we all relied on photographic film when taking pictures of friends, family or interesting places and landmarks. We were always very careful how and when we took these photos as at the time exposures were limited to either 24 or 36, there was also the case of having the photos developed by the nearest lab. The entire process would take from days to weeks depending on whether we we...

With the incredible rise in popularity of on-demand streaming services from Netflix, Amazon Prime, Google Play, NowTV, Rakatun and more, there is now no better time to watch our favourite movies and TV programmes. We can now consume our TV using a variety of devices – Image Credit: Netflix We are not just simply watching TV, we are ‘consuming’ it! This fascination and above all,...

You might remember a few weeks back, I talked about how smartphones have now officially taken over our lives, squeezing into every social, domestic and work situation. Today, I spoke to James Hazell on BBC Radio Suffolk about how our very Government is considering investigating how to make the use of a smartphone safer for us all. China continues to innovate in this area by providing ‘mobile...

Following reports of an increase in car-related crime, I spoke to Mark Murphy on BBC Radio Suffolk about what can be done to reduce the chances of falling foul to Keyless Car Crime. Keyless Keyfobs are devices that have come to replace the ‘traditional’ car entry methods which required us to actively press a lock/unlock button on our fobs. Instead the car constantly ‘polls’...

The Genie is now officially out of the bottle! We use our smartphones too much! Most of us will already know this though, how could we miss it? You only have to travel on buses, trains and planes to see myriads of people sitting quietly staring at their smart phones, glued to Facebook, Snapchat or Twitter, scrolling through the latest news. In restaurants alongside the place settin will sit a smar...