The Gadget Man - Technology News and Reviews

The cashless society is economic model that removes physical money from our wallets and replaces it with fully digital transactions. So, we no longer carry banknotes and coins, instead we carry our traditional bank cards or mobile devices. These transactions can be made in our home currencies (in my case Pound Sterling), an international currency or even a digital currency such as Bitcoin or Ether...

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has announced proposals to change building regulations to encourage the mandatory installation of electric vehicle charge points in new homes and offices. New street lighting columns which service on-street parking will also have charging points in appropriate locations. Along with these changes, the government has also promised more money to fund the charging in...

On Friday I spoke to Jenny Kendall-Tobias on BBC Radio Guernsey about children carrying mobile phones in classrooms. This followed an interview  in the Daily Telegraph two weeks ago with  Matt Hancock MP, Minister of State for Digital and Culture.  He gave his views on the use of mobile phones in class by children and what he believed headteachers should be doing to tackle the issue. Matt Hancock...

Following on from the ongoing  Facebook / Cambridge Analytica scandal, I was invited to be a guest on James Hazell’s show on BBC Radio Suffolk. We talked in depth about how social networks and apps are using our data. Please listen in by clicking the ‘play’ button above. Don’t forget to Like, Subscribe, Comment and Share. Throughout history, we have fought to gain our right...

This morning I joined Wayne Bavin at BBC Radio Suffolk to both discuss and demonstrate modular coding with the help of the Sphero Mini Robot. It was a great opportunity to show how coding can be fun with the aid of a trio of programmable robots. You can click on the link above to listen to the stream, thanks to Wayne for making me so welcome. If you would like to purchase any of these products, th...

I chatted to Mark Murphy at BBC Radio Suffolk this morning as part of a discussion about Kitchen Gadgets that have fallen out of use. We have all bought something for the kitchen to help us cook or prepare food and consequently found that although useful, they end up sitting in a cupboard, in a draw or on top of a kitchen cabinet. Listen into the audio stream to find out what I thought and how I p...

As I continue to ride the wave of euphoria of completing the 1200 mile east to west  Gadget Road Trip with my lifelong friend Andy. Today I joined BBC Radio Suffolk’s Sarah Lilley on the Sofa in Ipswich and explained how the challenge came about and how it felt to drive 1200 miles in an Electric Car and why I love Gadgets! I also talked about how I met Vanessa, how I listen to music and an i...

Following a report by the RAC that vehicle thefts in the United Kingdom have risen by 30% in the last three years, I spoke to Mark Murphy on his BBC Radio Suffolk Breakfast show about how thieves are trying to defeat the security measures that car manufacturers are putting in place. You can listen into the stream, but clicking the ‘play’ button above. If you are interested in the techn...

Click to buy the Nokia 3310 from Amazon With the UK launch of the Nokia 3310, I talk to Mark Murphy at BBC Radio Suffolk about the nostalgia behind one of the most popular mobile phones of the last 20 years. The original Nokia 3310 is without doubt an iconic mobile handset and in it’s original form which went on to sell 126,000,000 units. https://audioboom.com/posts/5950784-nokia-3310-re-launches-...

Following my previous post which can be found here , I talked this morning to Mark Murphy on BBC Radio Suffolk about WannaCry and the effect it has had on the NHS, what needs to be done to stop it happening again and what we can do to protect ourselves. To read and in depth article on how to protect your computers from such attacks, click here PLEASE ensure your computers have all their updates in...

This morning I was interviewed by Mark Murphy on BBC Radio Suffolk about what makes me grumpy? At the moment a lot of my time is spent securing websites and investigating hacking attempts, so this felt like a legitimate ‘grump’. If you own a website, don’t assume it’s secure, make sure it’s secure. Listen in to the stream and let me know what you think… The post...

The Nokia 3310 is set to make a comeback in the second quarter of 2017 Once again this week I was delighted to chat to James Hazell. Today we discussed the relaunch of the Nokia 3310, an iconic mobile handset in it’s original form which went on to sell 126,000,000 units. In 2017, HMD the new licence holder of the Nokia phone brand will be launching 4 new phones, three of these phones are And...

Fantastic to be back on BBC Radio Suffolk this week, even more special that I was invited to James Hazell’s home for a very special outside broadcast, where we talked about effectively working from home and I got to play Star Trek Pinball!! Thanks to James and Isaac for the invitation, fabulous fun! Listen, Like, Subscribe and Share!!!   The post Gadget Man – Episode 97 – Wo...

It was great to be back on BBC Radio Suffolk this morning chatting about technology, today I chatted to James Hazell about ‘Three Useful Apps’ Snapseed – a fantastic little photo editing app that is being used by more than just amateurs as a quick way of fixing photos on the move. Free – (iOS/Android) How to Tie a Tie – I love this app and make use of it every month....

Aluminium construction with etched logo make the device appear luxurious and high end. I’m a real fan of tablet computers. I love being able to comfortably read eBooks, magazines and news websites. I love watching streaming movies and catching up on TV either on the move on in the comfort of my home. https://audioboom.com/posts/5966596-asus-zenpad-3s-10-a-great-alternative-to-the-obvious Mak...

The human race’s relentless pursuit of technology has now surpassed the scale of the Industrial Revolution of the 19th Century, it has seemingly eclipsed the USA vs Russia arms race of the Cold War era, becoming itself a 21st Century Technology Arms Race, with commercial ideologies hand in hand with the our unquenchable thirst for better, brighter, faster and ‘always on’ technolo...

Today we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Star Trek which first aired in 1964! Amazingly the series only ran for 3 series before being cancelled NBC. The show was an instant hit with a core group of fans now called ‘Trekkies’ or ‘Trekkers’. Star Trek went on to be shown on repeats or reruns many times over the years. Leonard Nimoy as Mr Spock. Image courtesy Wikimedia Star...

Yahoo HQ – image credit Yahoo On Friday, I spoke to Mark Murphy on the Morning Show on BBC Radio Suffolk about the breaking news story concerning the massive data breach at Yahoo, possibly converning over 500,000,000 user accounts and by far the largest leak in history. Listen to the short interview where I explain what I think happened and what Yahoo users should do to ensure their accounts...

Grumpy Old Gits came to an end a couple of weeks ago. Here’s the episode from 9th September 2016 with Matt Porter, Neil Bowles and Tim Edwards all kept in order by Mark Matthews!! Queuing, a very British passtime   The post Grumpy Old Gits – 9th September 2016 with Matt Porter, Neil Bowles and Tim Edwards appeared first on Matt Porter, The Gadget Man - Creative Technologist - AI &...

This week the Gog’s discuss Shared Driveways, England’s Football Kit, Profiteering from Bad Luck, Music on Hold  and many more!! PAUL GASCOIGNE has the contents of the water bottle pored into his mouth by Alan Shearer as Steve McManaman and Jamie Redknapp join in his goal celebrations. EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS 1996, ENGLAND v SCOTLAND, 15/6/96. WEMBLEY CREDIT: COLORSPORT / ANDREW COWIE Grump...

I was back on air this morning with Mark Murphy and James Hazell to talk about drones and the immense rise in their popularity. With popularity comes a degree of public worry and a much larger degree of press coverage. Should drones be licensed? Should people need to take a proficiency test to use them? All of this was covered on BBC Radio Suffolk this morning along with interviews with The Civil...

This week on ‘Grumps’, Matt, Wayne and James grumble about:- Why aren’t Crematoriums big enough? Why do people have Double Barrel names? Why do people not indicate before turning? Why do all manner of domestic appliances now ‘Beep’ incessantly? Who are ‘They’? What has happened to Chivalry? You can find out what the ‘Gogs’ had to say by listeni...

Self Driving Cars are never far from the news, and last week whilst taking a few days away in sunny West Sussex, I spoke to Mark about what the future holds for Self Driving Cars and Truck Platooning. Tune in to the audio stream to find out what we had to say on the matter, and whether I think you would will have ‘had it’ if a fuse blows in your autonomous vehicle. Below is a also a vi...

Royal Watchers This week Matt again joined the Grumpy Old Gits on Mark Murphy’s Morning Show on BBC Radio Suffolk, where together with Ian Healey and James Easter they had a collective grumble about the following:- Banning Contact in School Rugby – James Easter Sunday, no longer the day of rest – Matt Porter Royal Watchers – Ian Healey Cold Calling – Ian Healey Air Sh...

Colour Grading – Orange / Teal This week Matt was a G.O.G. (Grumpy Old Git) on Mark Murphy’s Morning Show on BBC Radio Suffolk.   The subject matter still had technology subject matter as well as poor sound quality on broadcast TV, the perils of being computer savvy, the date of Easter, do children still go out to play and does riding an electric bike count as exercise? Featuring...