Every Tuesday, Internet-whiz Darragh Doyle does his best to uncover the strangest websites and most outrageous apps you never knew you needed in your life. Here's what Darragh went through on today's show:
Hound's good to me
If you believe that speaking to connected devices should be like how we speak normally, this will show you it’s now possible. So many of things that you used to type, tap and swipe for can now be done effortlessly by speaking.
In this video, SoundHound Inc. Founder & CEO, Keyvan Mohajer does examples of voice queries to Hound that show speed and accuracy, and the ability to handle context, detailed criteria, and other examples.
US residents can download the app and Hound on iOS is coming soon.
A young kenpo karate martial artist returns home after ten years in reform school on a quest to find out who murdered his father. He is befriended by an old monk and a local Irish beauty. His search takes him to the prestigious Bealtaine Martial Arts Tournament.
Fatal Deviation is an Irish kung-fu film made in 1998, starring, among others, Mikey Graham from Boyzone.
The Irish Film Database is a great attempt at cataloguing the many weird, wonderful, and even god-awful Irish films produced in the 120 years. There are over 540 films from 460 directors, with the site catalogued by director, actor, genre, year and production companies coming soon.There are over 3000 actors listed on the site too.
It comes from the Scannain family, which in 2009 started as a small film blog and now encompasses film reviews and competitions, Gearrscannain – which is a database of all Irish short films – and now the Irish film database.
There are a lot of gems to be found here, like those listed above and the information. And surprise details you never knew like, for example, that Sergio Leone’s 1971 western Duck, You Sucker was filmed in Toner's on Baggot St or The Vengeance of Fu Manchu shot in Bray. Interestingly most early Irish films are shot by priests as the church was the only organisation that could afford cameras.
As well as the weird and wonderful, you can also find what are pretty much accepted as the top 10 Irish films - Waking Ned, Once, The Crying Game, The Snapper, Intermission, In The Name of The Father, The Field, My Left Foot, The Quiet Man and The Commitments.
Did a cute pet on a movie poster make you think it would be a fun comedy but it turned out to be a pet-with-a-terminal-illness tearjerker instead? Are you unable to enjoy the human body count in a horror movie because you're wondering whether the dog's going to kick the bucket?
That’s why Does The Dog Die can help. A quick search on some films out now:
- Mad Max: Fury Road – No pets die
- Avengers: Age of Ultron – No pets die
- Far from the Madding Crowd – A dog is shot (off screen) after chasing sheep
- Pitch Perfect 2 – No dogs die
- Tomorrowland – No pets die
RunPee
Because movie theaters don’t have pause buttons. The RunPee app will give you a list of 1-to-4 moments in each movie when you can run and pee. They also let you know if there is anything during or after the end credits that you should stick around for. No more waiting 8-10 minutes for nothing.
Better yet, now you can sit confidently while everyone else leaves and you know that there is something extra after the end credits.
In addition the RunPee app gives you a synopsis of the first 3 minutes of most moves just in case you’re running late.
It’s super hard to find PeeTimes in good, well-edited movies. But they don’t want to leave you with nothing. So sometimes the PeeTimes are simply spots in the movie that can be easily summed up, so you won’t be lost when you get back.
For when you leave the cinema and want to grab a Dublin bike home, here’s the perfect thing. Find your nearest bike stand, see how many bikes are at it and whether the station is open.
Available on your smart watches, phones and internet ready devices, made by Colm Doyle, who also made www.whoismytd.com.
Back Off Radio - the warning device that saves lives before it’s too late
Here’s a new device from the Road Safety Authority in Dubai. It’s a system installed in the front and back of taxis to prevent tailgating, using the car radio to transmit a message, interrupting whatever you’re listening to and warning the driver.
Once the taxi reaches 60kmph safety zones are activated. When a driver breaches the safety zone behind the taxi, the device transmits a message to the radio of the car behind the taxi to warn them. Similarly, if the taxi is too close to the car in front, the radio warns the taxi driver.
In Urdu, Hindi, Arabic, and English. The message is - “Please keep a safe distance from the car in front. It could be carrying a friend or loved one.”
Remember Windows95? Well, here’s Windows93 for you to have a play around with and relive what it was like - or, if you’re too young to remember, you can check what it actually was like to put up with an Operating System like that.
It’s all nonsense, but you can:
- Play a version of Snake while Defragmenting your disk drive
- Play Solitude where you’ll always win and have the bouncing cards
- Try drawing in the old pixel by pixel bitmap style
- Play Robby, an old point and click adventure
- And some 40 other things for you to click on and enjoy – or not.
A coub is a looped video up to 10 seconds long. They are being created and used in very interesting ways – from the illusion of moving photographs to 360-degree demos of artwork and products to animation and film clips being matched with interesting music and home videos.
Coming hot on the tails of Vine six-second videos and Gifs, which can be shorter or longer (albeit without sound), Coub could be the next big video thing.
FatFingers - eBay spelling mistakes and typos
Thousands of items are listed on eBay with spelling mistakes. These often end with no bids as no-one can find them. Type in a search word and click find to uncover these hidden gems...
Perfect for anyone who loves the thrill of getting the first bid at a bargain on eBay. Cameras, Computers, Playstations, tablets, tables – all great finds at great prices.
And finally...
Irish people trying Cheetos for the first time.
To see what Darragh covered with Seán last week, please click here.
