Samsung do it again with the Galaxy S7

Samsung appear to have done it again with their new Galaxy S7, continuing to cut the gap between themselves and Apple's iPhone as the most popular mobile phone on the market when their latest smartphone hits the shelves on March 11. When it comes to Android phones, nobody quite does it like Samsung, and the Galaxy S7 has already been a hit for a host of reasons, from its camera to its memory slot. Both the S7 and the S7 Edge, the slimmer version of the phone, are being tipped to challenge the iPhone 6 at the top of the best selling charts over the next few months, and it's hard to find any real fault in this new release from Samsung.

People want a lot more from their phones than ever before. Whether it's creating high-quality videos for YouTube, checking the latest football scores with ESPN, booking a flight with Skyscanner or any number of modern uses for smartphones, people need their phones to capable of more functions than ever before.

Having placed a lot of emphasis on gamers, with some exciting developments in the pipeline for virtual reality, the S7 is a lot more than just a phone. And for those gaming fans who have an interest in online casinos, whether it’s playing pokies with 32Red or competing in poker tournaments, this smartphone is more than capable of juggling everything a gamer could need to stay on top of all the action. 

But as well as offering users all the latest apps and features, the public want to know the more traditionally important functions of a phone are as important as those new innovations. So, what are the main things we need to know about Samsung's latest product. 

Image Credit: the Inquirer

Camera: The most obvious improvement with the S7 has to be its camera. With a clear focus on low-light settings, Samsung have reduced the camera from 16 to 12 megapixels, albeit it using bigger pixels that allow 56 percent more light - something that has clearly worked.Boasting a f/1.7 aperture with a rearranged sensor layout for quicker focus speeds, the Galaxy S7 camera could well be one of the most complete on the market. From its colour capture, to its lightning quick shutter speed, if you're only going to get hyped about one aspect of Samsung's latest design, it has to be its camera.

Water Resistant: While there was a lot to like about the Galaxy S6, the fact it wasn't water resistant didn't go down well with those that had become used to it. With an impressive IP68 rating, the S7 can survive a drop in five foot of water for up to time scale of up half an hour. It might not be advised to take the new Galaxy with you on your next scuba diving session, but the fact the S7 is water resistant does make bath-time a little less nervous.

Video Credit: The Verge

24-Hour Display: One long-standing problem when it comes to smartphones has been the quest to provide 24-hour information on a lock-screen display without milking the battery. Samsung appear to have solved this with their energy-efficient AMOLED display and Snapdragon 820 processor, which means the 'Always On' feature can show the time, calendar and notifications on the screen around-the-clock. It might not be the biggest task to check the time without having to unlock your phone, but this is yet another welcome little touch from Samsung that make this phone so impressive. 

Gaming: As well as being able to download your favourite sports and betting apps, such as 32Red or UNIBET, Samsung have placed particular focus on both gaming and virtual reality. When it comes to gaming, Samsung have created TouchWiz, a customised version of Android that comes complete with its own hub. This brilliant feature allows the user to shoot video or voice calls and text into small icons, meaning you don't have to lose your place in whatever game you're playing just to send a call from your Gran to voicemail. 

The Edge won’t frustrate you....as much: The launch of the Edge on the S6 certainly caught the attention of a lot of people, but then it definitely failed to maintain that attention due to a number of reasons. But rather than cut their losses on the feature - allowing users to swipe to favourite apps from the side of your phone, Samsung have upped it a level, adding more panels and even allowing third-party developers to get involved. So, if you're regularly emailing the same person, you can customise your Edge so that a shortcut will automatically open the email with the recipient’s details already included. 

Any good?

Aside from these nice and very welcome features, the real strength from the Galaxy S7 comes from the fact that it isn't a million miles away from the S6 - which was such a hit when it came out last year. 

Geek Editing Room Tour Early 2016

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How much Tablets and Mobiles are Used

It’s not a surprise that mobile devices have been overtaking desktop ones, both in technology and usage, in the last few years. Up to 2013 the hours of desktop use, per day, in the USA, overtook mobile devices, and it was 2013 when they were both used exactly equally, and after then mobile devices overtook desktops, in their hours of usage. Even though TVs are still the most device, to watch media content, it’s usage is slowly going down year by year.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

Online games have become much more advanced in the last few years, too, in their graphics and audio advancements, but also the range of games available, on PCs, consoles and mobile devices, and the span many genres, including first-person shooters, strategies games, and massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs.) Many online games, especially MMORPGs, create their own communities, whilst other games, especially social games, integrate the players’ existing real-life communities. With apps now widely used, on mobile devices, it’s now easier, and cheaper, to play games which have been downloaded onto your device, as once downloaded then internet connection is not normally needed to play favourite games, from games for preschoolers, to zombie fight, and skilled driving games. There are also online casino games which have big jackpots, so you can play here on these sites, to see what they have to offer. Betway has a range of casino games, from roulette, blackjack, and slots, with welcome bonuses for new players.
 

There has been a growing popularity f using different digital device, using data from Global Web Index 2015. To search the internet 91% of this was done by PCs and laptops, 80% by smartphones, 47% by tablets, and 37% by games consoles. The emerging devices used to search the internet were smart TVs (34%,) smart watches (9%,) and smart wristbands (7%.) 80% of internet users owned a smartphone. Mobile apps account for 89% of media time, the most popular being social networking, email, and news apps. The most dominant tablets are still iPads, with Kindle Fire and Android now accounting for over 10% of all tablets. The time spent on Android devices was that 32% was on games, 18% on Facebook, both entertainment and utility take up 8% each, and browsers taking up 20% of the time. This recent information shows the increase in mobile devices and why this is so.

The Gadget Show Live GIVEAWAY

The Gadget Show Live is taking place at the NEC Birmingham on 31st March thru 3rd April 2016. This show will be epic, with halls filled with the latest tech, plus the awesome live shows too. 

To help you get there, we have TEN pairs of tickets up from grabs, with multiple ways for you to enter. Check out the giveaway below. 

Gadget Show Live Ticket Giveaway - 10 Pairs

Currently Testing Aputure EZ Box+ Softbox Kit

Here's something I am testing … the Aputure EZ Box+ Softbox Kit (Grid). To put it simply, this is a softbox solution for the Aputure LED lights I use for my videos. It gives me better lighting control and certainly helps reduce those harsh shadows (ahem … you might have seen them in some of my videos). Although this is quite simple in its design, the outcome is very noticeable indeed. 

Check out the EZ Box+ Softbox kit (Grid) here.

SSD Equals New Tricks for Old MacBooks

Wondering how to revive the flagging spirits of your aging MacBook? Nothing will have more impact than swapping out your hard drive for a solid-state drive, more commonly known as SSD. No, really. People speak of the results in rapturous language. So set aside a little time and get a few tools for an easy upgrade that can be done on any Mac released in 2012 or before. Following is a quick overview of the process, but there are several reliable video resources online.

SSDs are quite a bit more expensive than a standard hard drive, so to replace a good-size HDD will cost you at least £100. It’s worth it if your alternative is purchasing a new MacBook.

What will you need? An internal SSD, a cable or dock for initially connecting the drive externally, a set of small Phillips-head and torx-head screwdrivers, and a utility that will back up your hard drive, such as SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner.

First, format and load up the SSD: Connect it via a SATA-to-USB cable or a dock, launch Disk Utility, and click Erase. Next, with your chosen utility, you’ll clone your Mac’s hard drive to the SSD. Eject the SSD and shut down your computer.

Remove the back cover on your Mac. Before touching anything inside the case, ground yourself to discharge static electricity; an optional safety step is to disconnect the battery. Unscrew and remove the bracket covering the hard drive. To disconnect the drive, don’t pull on the long attached ribbon, but instead gently wiggle the connector itself. Remove and set aside the four screws in the hard drive. Insert the SSD into the drive bay, attach the ribbon, put the screws back in, and work backwards to reseat the drive and close your computer back up. Now restart. It might take a few moments for your MacBook to make friends with the new drive, but when it does you will notice the difference.

What will you get in return for this effort? Speed, speed and speed. If you’ve come to that point in your Mac’s life when launching an application, saving a document, or starting up and shutting down are taking a painfully long time, converting to a solid-state drive will not only solve those problems, it will have you zipping around faster than you did when that laptop was new. In numerous benchmarking tests, SSDs perform much faster than HDDs in every measure – bandwidth, input-output, response time. If you’re a gamer, designer, illustrator, photographer, or videographer, you will wonder how you survived this long without an SSD.

Standard hard drives consist of spinning platters with motors that run a mechanism over the surface, writing and reading data. The whole operation uses battery life, causes heat, and is prone to damage by both accident and heavy use. SSDs have no moving parts and their design allows them to read data instantaneously, so they don’t generate heat, make no sound, won’t break if you drop your laptop, and are more energy efficient so they save battery life. In other words, there is no downside to this upgrade.

Sony Launch New Camcorders at CES 2016

Life’s defining moments can happen so fast, we often fail to fully appreciate the essence of the experience. Whether it’s a child’s first steps, a school play, graduation or a wedding day – having a video to re-live your happiest times with friends and family can become one of your greatest treasures. Sony’s newest Handycam camcorders allow you to perpetuate those moments in vibrant 4K detail.

FDR-AX53 – Breath-taking picture quality with 4K Handycam

The patriarch of this year’s camcorder family takes form in Sony’s newest 4K Handycam, the FDR-AX53, combining enhanced image quality and incredible sound performance.

The FDR-AX53 features a new Exmor R CMOS sensor, providing exceptionally detailed 4K movies. Due to the new sensor’s approximately 1.6x larger pixel sizeii, the FDR-AX53 enjoys a much greater sensitivity level than its predecessorand allows for fantastically clear content with outstanding resolution even when shooting in low light conditions.

The FDR-AX53 features a newly developed ZEISS lens that extends to a wide angle of 26.8mmiii, accurately capturing the scene from wide angle through to telephoto. The lens empowers the camcorder with a remarkable range of 20x optical and 30x (4K)/ 40x (FHD) Clear Image Zoom, for beautiful close-up footage you don’t want to miss.

Due to its Advanced Aspherical (AA) and Extra-low Dispersion(ED) lens elements, colour fringing is highly reduced allowing the lens to produce incredibly accurate colours for beautifully precise footage. The multi-layer film ZEISS T* coating reduces unwanted reflections like ghosting and flare which delivers a crisper, clearer image even when shooting on bright days outside.

The FDR-AX53 is the first Handycam with an enhanced version of Sony’s own Balance Optical SteadyShot; a 5-axis image stabilisation system that brings you blur-free footage when shooting handheld and thanks to its new Intelligent Active modeiv, also ensures crisp footage whilst running. This incredibly powerful image stabilisation system allows for exceptionally smooth and clear video footage from all angles, even when on the move or whilst using the telephoto end of the 20x optical zoom when aiming for close-ups shots. The new Intelligent Active mode takes it a step further and even allows for incredibly clear HD footage when running.

The FDR-AX53 records at an incredible high bit-rate of 4K 100Mbps, using the high-performing XAVC S™ recording format[vi], allowing each frame to be filled with astonishing 4K detail so you can relive everything from splashing waves to colourful confetti.

The camcorder comes with a newly adapted AF algorithm, Fast Intelligent AF, also featuring in Sony’s α7S II, which optimises communication between the lens and processor to achieve speeds up to approximately 40% fasterii than previous models and more precise subject capture.

Advanced sound quality

The FDR-AX53’s new microphone structure collects sound from five directions, thereby capturing real-life sounds and delivering a more realistic sense of ambience. Due to the enhanced microphone structure, noise levels have been reduced by approximately 40%ii, and stereo performance is approximately twice as high as previous modelsii, allowing for clear recordings in a greater range of environments. Its 5.1ch microphone records high stereo sound in 2ch in XAVC S 4K/HD and high surround sound in 5.1ch in AVCHD. In addition, the My Voice Canceling function reduces the user’s own voice whilst recording.

Full HD 100fps recording for slow-mo movies[vii]

As a first for the Handycam series, the FDR-AX53 can record at 100fps in Full HD meaning that footage can be edited into breath-taking slow motion footage with the free PC software, PlayMemories Home™, to add a whole new dimension to home movies.

It boasts many pro-style refinements for greater shooting flexibility, including a manual ring and button that can be allocated to functions like zoom, focus and exposure and electronic viewfinder (EVF), allowing the user to easily compose scenes even when recording on sun-filled holidays. For greater control of the edit, advanced users can benefit from Time Code and User Bit options.

To enjoy recorded footage at home, 4K content can be played back on a compatible 4K TV through a supplied HDMI cable or by automatic down conversion of 4K frames in Full HD playback on an HD TV. For beautiful framing, this Handycam also allows you to playback trimmed 4K images from selected video frames, enlarging or cropping[viii] selected parts of the frame in Full HD quality.

More new ways to capture and share the memories

Sony’s Full HD camcorder range welcomes two new members, HDR-CX625 and HDR-CX450. As with their elder siblings, they extend to a generous wide angle of 26.8mmiii, meaning beautiful family moments can be captured in any situation. Both new models benefit from image stabilisation technologies including advanced 5-axis Balanced Optical SteadyShot with Intelligent Active mode on the HDR-CX625, and Optical SteadyShot with Intelligent Active mode on the HDR-CX450–ensuring highly detailed, blur-free footage.

The Handycam camcorders allow for XAVC S 50Mbps high-bitrate recordingv and also feature Fast Intelligent AF. With 5.1ch surround microphone performance[ix] and My Voice Canceling, superb sound quality is also guaranteed.

Using Sony’s free PlayMemories Home™PC software, you can organise and edit your footage and also create your personal high-quality time-lapse moviesvi with Time-lapse Capture for powerful, impactful scenes in 4K using the FDR-AX53 and HD with the HDR-CX625 and HDR-CX450.

Live Broadcasts

To get others involved in the action, all new Handycam models allowLive Streamingvia USTREAMTM[x], enabling you to stream HD video footage and sound from Handycam camcorders through a wireless access point. You can now ensure that no one, no matter how far away, will miss out on those defining moments, no matter where in the world they may be.

Like all of Sony’s Handycam line up, the new models feature the automatic in-cam movie editing function, Highlight Movie Maker[xi], which picks key moments in your footage like laughter or zoomed in moments and assembles them into short-clips without any need for post-production editing. You can customise with transition effects and soundtrack music and once completed, easily share your MP4 movie on social media sites.

Sony’s new 4K Handycam will be available in Europe from March 2016; the Full HD camcorders will be available from mid-February, 2016.

• Today’s special moments are tomorrow’s greatest memories with new Handycam range featuring new 4K[i] and two new HD models
  • FDR-AX53 4K Handycam with new Exmor R™ CMOS sensor with approx. 1.6x bigger pixel size[ii] for unrivalled sensitivity, particularly in low light conditions
  • New ZEISS® Vario-Sonnar T* lens for astounding resolution up to a wide angle of 26.8mm[iii] and 20x optical zoom and 30x Clear Image Zoom[iv]
  • Featuring 5-axis image stabilisation enabled by Sony’s Balanced Optical SteadyShot™ enhanced with NEW Intelligent Active mode[v], compensating for camera shake even whilst running
  • New microphone structure which collects sound from five directions for advanced sound quality
  • Full HD 100fps high speed recording for post-production editing of incredible slow-mo moviesvi
  • Pro-style features including manual ring, EVF, Time Code recording and User Bit for increased shooting flexibility
  • HDR-CX625 and HDR-CX450 HD camcorders with enhanced camera functions including 5-axis image stabilisation (only on CX625), Fast Intelligent AF, and Time-lapse Capture

Phase One Brings Amazing 100MP Photos to Life

COPENHAGEN, January 4, 2016 -- Phase One today announced that in collaboration with Sony it has designed a new 100MP CMOS full-frame sensor for the Phase One XF 100MP Camera System. Engineered to perform well beyond 100MP imaging, the modular Phase One XF Camera System platform was designed for expansion – offering hard-working professional photographers tangible investment value.

The XF 100MP Camera System with this new full-frame, medium format 100MP CMOS sensor combines high resolution with high dynamic range and exceptional wide angular response. The Phase One XF 100MP offers photographers unprecedented power to realize their visions. It delivers true 16-bit color, 15 f-stops of dynamic range, live view capturing with HDMI output, ISO flexibility from 50 to 12800 and exposure times of up to 60 minutes.

“For more than 20 years, we at Phase One have been pushing the limits of digital image quality to help top photographers stand out,” said Niels Knudsen, Vice President of Innovation and Phase One’s ‘Image Quality Professor.’ “With the XF 100MP Camera System, everything we have been working toward for our customers comes together in one system: ultimate image quality and ultimate creative freedom.”

“The XF 100MP Camera System delivers unparalleled dynamic range, retaining unmatched detail in both highlights and shadows, packing 101,082,464 active high quality pixels,” said Henrik Håkonsson, Phase One’s CEO. “This is the highest performing system that we have ever created, benefitting from a multitude of Phase One exclusive innovations developed to support our amazing customers in creating the ultimate images.”  

Introduced in June, 2015, the Phase One XF Camera System has been built with optimal 100MP performance in mind. As such, features like the Honeybee Auto Focus, Vibration Tracking, Electronic First Curtain Shutter, and Vibration Detection technology have all been developed to ensure the ultimate 100MP performance. The Phase One XF Camera System was also designed for future growth with regular feature upgrades, incorporating new features and unique customizations. Coupled with new Schneider Kreuznach Leaf Shutter lenses, interchangeable Prism Viewfinder and Waist Level Finder, the Phase One XF 100MP Camera System is sure to set the standard for professional photography for many years to come.

High-resolution files produced by the new Phase One XF 100MP Camera System, when processed with Capture One 9, benefit from the software’s advanced algorithms that have been fine-tuned over decades of engineering investment, rendering superior image quality and superior results.

Availability and Pricing
Shipping immediately, the XF 100MP Camera System is available through Phase One photography partners worldwide: www.phaseone.com/partners.

The XF 100MP Camera System comes with Phase One’s unique 5-year warranty and uptime guarantee including personalized 24/7 support and assistance.

The price of the Phase One XF 100MP Camera System (with Schneider Kreuznach 80mm LS lens) is 48,990 USD.

Attractive camera system upgrade offers are available for all Phase One photographers. Please contact our Phase One photography partners for further details: www.phaseone.com/partners.

For a demo of the Phase One XF 100 MP Camera System, please sign up here: www.phaseone.com/demo

Revealed: The top Christmas gadgets of the last decade

Smart watches set to top tech-savvy Christmas lists … From games consoles to tablets and wearables, the top technology Christmas gifts of the last decade chart how the world has advanced. The way we game, read, track our fitness and work has been revolutionised since 2005. As Christmas approaches, what better way to celebrate trends in technology than to take a look at the most successful technology products of the past ten years?

2005
Back in 2005, 1.1 million of us sent Shane Ward to the Christmas top spot, and number one on everyone’s Christmas list was the brand new Xbox 360. Demand hugely outstripped supply, with hundreds of gamers queuing for hours in the rain to lay their hands on the console, which sold out in hours. The Xbox franchise has continued to delight gamers; 9 years later, Microsoft announced that Xbox 360 sales stood at 84 million units sold, with lifetime game sales for the platform at $37.7 billion. On last calculation, Xbox 360 gamers have logged more than 88 billion hours of gameplay, which is equivalent to more than 100,000 centuries.

2006
2006 saw Daniel Craig’s first outing as Bond in ‘Casino Royale’, and Sony’s fight back against Microsoft, in the shape of the Play Station 3. First introduced in 1995, the Play Station and Play Station 2 are still the best-selling home game consoles in history. To date the four Play Station versions have sold a total of 344 million units.

2007
2007 was the year gaming got physical, with stocks of Nintendo’s Wii finally becoming widely available to buy. Named a ‘revolution’ by Forbes Magazine, which claimed that the Wii ‘has re-invented video gaming, making it more social, more intuitive and surprisingly physically engaging…it’s potentially the device that will make video gaming as widely enjoyed as board or card games.’ Since launch, it’s sold more than 100 million units.

2008
It’s hard to imagine life before the smart phone, but 2008 was the year the 3G iPhone hit our shores. Now in its 12th incarnation, over 500 million iPhones have been sold, currently making it the best-selling smartphone of all time.

2009
The Amazon Kindle took technology into a new realm, revolutionising the way we consume new and enduring classic literature. The Kindle 2 was launched in 2009 and by early the next year the founder and CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, stated that "millions of people now own Kindles” and that “six Kindle books were being sold for every 10 physical books". Kindle remains the undisputed leader of the e-reader. The company is famously secretive about sales figures but 2013 estimates put sales of all Kindle devices at roughly 44 million.

2010
Pre-2010, the thought of receiving a tablet for Christmas was understandably unlikely to be anywhere near the top of anyone’s list. That all changed with the unveiling of the iPad in January 2010 by then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs. In contrast to earlier tablet PCs, the iPad was marketed as a consumer device that would fill the gap between smartphones and laptop computers. Over 292 million have been sold to date.

2011
2011 was a momentous year for Brits, with the union of Prince William and Kate Middleton. In the world of technology, all eyes were on the launch of the first commercially successful ‘phablet’, the Samsung Galaxy Note. Whilst some media outlets questioned the viability of the device due to its 5.3-inch (135-mm) screen, the Note received a positive reception, selling 1 million units in two months.

2012
2012 was the year that London was Olympics-obsessed, Facebook debuted on the stock market, Felix Baumgartner jumped from space and the iPad went mini. Lighter and thinner than its predecessor, the iPad Mini reportedly sold three million units in the three days post launch.

2013
Sony’s next generation console, the Playstation 4, launched in November 2013. Six months later, 7 million homes world-wide owned a PS4. Having lost several previous battles to Nintendo’s Wii, Sony was finally winning the games console war.

2014
To 2014 and wearable technology; namely the fitness tracker. Sales have risen 250% year-on-year and from mid-2014 to mid-2015, the wearable industry grew by a massive 223%. At this rate, it’s possible that the market will actually reach the predicted $74 billion mark by 2025.

2015
2015 is undoubtedly the year of the smartwatch, combining fitness tracking, time keeping and connectivity in one package. The global smartwatch market has the potential to reach $32.9 billion by 2020, registering a compound annual growth rate of 68% between 2014 and 2020. It’s thought that 135 million wearable devices will be sold by 2018 – 68 million of them smart watches. Few other industries have such growth perspectives, and the potential to revolutionise how people communicate, monitor their health, work, and interact with their surroundings.

James Jie, Managing Director of Huawei UK and Ireland says, “It’s fascinating to see the impact that technology has had upon our lives during the past decade. In the recent past we saw technology as either fitting in with our work life – for instance PCs – or play, in the shape of games consoles. Now those boundaries no longer exist as technology is embedded within our daily lives. This is no more evident than in the rise of wearable technologies such as the Huawei Watch, which combines connectivity with style.”

Jie continues, “At Huawei, we invest 10% of our sales income into research and development to ensure that we are driving new technology forwards. In 2014 alone, we invested $1.2 billion into R&D. The Huawei Watch embodies our unfailing ambition to deliver an all-connected future across wearables, vehicles and smart phones. Looking back at the past ten years, it’s amazing how far technology has advanced and we look forward to being at the forefront of new advancements for years to come.”

For more information, please visit: http://consumer.huawei.com/minisite/worldwide/huawei-watch/

For regular updates on Huawei Consumer BG, follow us on:

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B: This post was sponsored by Huawei.

Aputure Launch two "Fine" Field Monitors

Pretty much every serious video shooter, using either a DLSR, ILC or video camera, does not rely solely on the built in monitor. The size that many manufacturers give us seems to top out at around three inches. Getting creative framing and critical focus has had me researching options for an external monitor for some time now. 

For those of you who follow me on YouTube and whom have asked me for lighting recommendations, you will know that I always recommend the Aputure Amaran LED lights that I use. Well, it just so turns out that Aputure have just launched two new field monitors. Both coming with 7 inch displays, the VS-1 FineHD and VS-2 FineHD have a 1920x1200 resolution, which exceeds most of the competition. The VS-2 adds a histogram feature, peaking, zebra, false colour and volume monitoring too, yet both come in at an amazing price. On paper they look very promising. Keep an eye on the Geekanoids channel as I will be reviewing the VS-2 FineHD soon.

A Look at the Origins of Casino Games

Casinos have been around for centuries in one form or another and since the advancements in technology; the industry has changed from the way we play games through to how we play them. There is a primal instinct in all of us that enjoys gambling and the excitement quickly gets the adrenaline running and online casino gaming is now a huge industry, ensuring that any games is available at our fingertips 24/7. 

Let’s look at the top three casino games that have changed throughout the years.

Slot Machines

Slot machines have always been one of the most popular types of games available in casinos and they are just as user-friendly online as they are in an actual casino. From basic beginnings as one-arm bandits that were first invented in the 1800s up to the online slots that are widely available nowadays, slot machines now have more reels and pay lines than ever before to ensure they remain one of the most exciting games on the market. It’s not all about luck, and maths plays a part in the outcome of every spin. The themes and symbols used have also evolved and the technology used is now more sophisticated, as the once mechanical reels are now operated by a random computer number generator.

Roulette & Craps

Table games have changed massively throughout history. Games such as roulette became a huge hit in the mid-19th century. Roulette was derived from a famous mathematician called Blaise Pascal who created the roulette wheel as he experimented with perpetual motion. The wheel is now one of the most easily recognised symbols in the world of gambling and casinos and as such, is also one of the favourite games choices for avid gamblers. Found online and in casinos worldwide, it is one of the more exciting games available and big wins in roulette are common. 

Craps is a simple game that involves throwing dice but it has an interesting history, which dates back to when ancient Egyptian witch doctors used to throw stones marked with numbers together with bones to determine who lived and died when people were sick. It has come a long way since its terrifying and dangerous early days and there are now three versions of the game available namely: casino craps, street craps and online craps. Players must wager a bet on the outcome of the number that will be rolled by the dice, and while largely a game of chance, it proves to be a hugely popular once. 

Card Games

The history of card games is a long one with many of today’s games dating back to games that were played back in the 1300s. The original decks of cards used very different symbols and images on them and they used to be carved from wood rather than paper. Poker and Blackjack were among the first card games invented by the French and the latter began with players attempting to get as close as possible to the total of 31 rather than what we play nowadays where 21 is the target. Poker has become a worldwide gaming phenomenon and is one of the most popular casino games today, whether played online or in a casino. 

Casino games are always evolving to ensure players have something new and exciting to focus on and as technology continues to move forward at a fast pace, who knows what lays in store for the new generation of avid gamblers.

Brothers seek investment in bid to revolutionise the event planning industry

Two brothers, Ben Maughan, 27, and Tim Maughan, 30, have just launched a crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs in a bid to raise some capital to further develop their event planning business, Add to Event, and transform the way the UK organise events.

The online business aims to make event organisation simple and stress-free by pairing event organisers with the best local suppliers depending on their criteria. The web app allows users to post details of their desired event on the website so that local suppliers can instantly get in touch with quotes for their services. With a huge number of registered service providers, the website can be used to organise any event, from small children's parties to huge corporate events.

Accenture, BBC and Sainsbury's are just three of the companies that have already used the application for organising corporate events.

Brothers and founders of Add to Event, Ben Maughan (left) and Tim Maughan (right)

Ben and Tim Maughan, brothers from Cheltenham, founded Add to Event after being fed up with how hard it was to find great suppliers for events in their area. The pair were trying to organise a mini-festival when they realised the true need for a platform such as theirs.

Ben Maughan says: “We had a great idea for a mini festival but found we were spending hours trawling through event directories and calling various suppliers only to find they were already booked or not available for the dates we were looking for. This was extremely frustrating and very time consuming.

Tim Maughan explains: “We had a good search but couldn’t find any companies that were trying to address the problem so decided to build the solution ourselves! We run a digital agency so have all the skills required to build a web app so it made perfect sense.”

The site now receives hundreds of requests a day from people all over the UK and the brothers are now seeking extra funding in order to rapidly expand their user base. Ben and Tim have turned down offers from angel investors in order to raise capital through an equity crowdfund, to give their customers the opportunity to part own the company and share in their success.

Add to Event is joining a popular wave of marketplace businesses that are changing the way people request local services. Consumers are becoming more demanding and are constantly on the lookout for services that make their lives easier. Other well-known online marketplaces include Hassle, enabling people to find local cleaners, Mybuilder, to find local tradesmen and AnyVan, to find and book a man with a van.

More information on the crowdfund campaign can be found here.