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How can smart home tech make my home more energy efficient?

How can smart home tech make my home more energy efficient?

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes Smart home and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies are revolutionising the way we approach managing our homes, providing new opportunities for accessible, convenient ways to conserve energy and minimise our carbon footprints. In this blog, we’ll take you through some of the key benefits of adopting smart home technologies, typical use cases, some things to [...]

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TL Tech’s Smart Home Week at ONE Tech Hub

Throughout the year Opportunity North East have been showcasing the work of innovative businesses from across the North East of Scotland. We were delighted to be chosen for the last tech showcase event of the year at the ONE Tech Hub and as you can see from the event round-up we really made the most of the opportunity! Day 1: [...]

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Alexa Updates Coming Soon! (ish)

Exciting Upgrades Coming Soon to Amazon Alexa and the Smart Home

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes It was an exciting week in the world of Amazon Alexa last week. Want to know about the latest Alexa updates? What does this mean for the smart home and Alexa voice applications (aka Skills)? Read on to find out more. We got the news that Alexa will be upgraded to include Large Language Model [...]

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Smart Meets Kind - Smarten Up Your Back-to-School Routine

Smarten Up Your Back-to-School Routine

It's back-to-school season! If you are anything like us getting back into a routine can be hard. There is always so much to organise and new timings to get used to. We’re here to help you set yourself and your kids up for success this school year and smarten up your back-to-school routine. In this blog, we’ll show you how [...]

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Behind the Scenes - June 2023

Behind the Scenes – June 2023

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes June is flying by and soon we will be off for the summer. We’ve been busy working on some new ideas and excited to let you know more about our plans. Find out what happens behind the scenes at our family run smart home business. This month is all about podcasts and widgets! Fife Family Fun Day This [...]

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How to support technology adoption

How to support technology adoption?

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes At TL Tech we’ve been on quite a journey when it comes to supporting technology adoption, going from installing tech in people’s houses to creating DIY resources to empower people to have a go themselves setting up tech solutions like the Amazon Alexa smart speakers. We’ve also had the pleasure of collaborating with organisations on [...]

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Caroline standing up presenting at the side of a big projector screen with slides

How will Conversational AI transform Health and Social Care?

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes Conversational AI and smart speakers are revolutionising the way we approach health and social care services, providing new opportunities for accessible, convenient and personalised support. I was delighted to head down to Glasgow to present on this topic at the Third Sector Lab's Tech for Good event. Conversational AI and generative AI are set to [...]

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Behind the scenes - May 2023 and photograph of a mug with the TL Tech mug and the TL Tech smart dolls house in the background

Behind the Scenes – May 2023

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes It has been rather a long time since we shared any updates. This is actually a good sign as we’ve been really busy working on user research for Kindspace looking at how effective it is at reducing feelings of worry and based on the feedback from the participants we’ve also taken the opportunity to [...]

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ALISS - A Local Information System for Scotland. Connecting you yo your community. "Alexa, enable my Scottish Community".

Unlocking Independence with Voice Technology

Introducing a new Amazon Alexa app designed to make community support information accessible to all Estimated reading time: 3 minutes A new voice in the emerging voice technology space is ALISS. Powered by Amazon Alexa, ALISS (A Local Information System for Scotland) is the first voice application of its kind. ALISS is a national digital system designed to help people find [...]

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Picture of Phoebe Pearson playing the clarsach at a gig

Meet Phoebe Pearson

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes In the latest instalment of our blog series, we interview Phoebe Pearson to find out more about how she got into Music Technology and what she likes to do outside of work. I am a big believer in serendipity and Phoebe ending up coming to work for us was definitely meant to be. We applied [...]

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News & Views - Innovative Support that Makes a Difference

Innovative Support that Makes a Difference

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes Firstly, I want to say welcome back if you are reading this and sorry that I haven’t written a news article for a long time. Time just gets away from us sometimes doesn’t it. It can be hard to feel like you’re being productive, but I think just staying well and looking after each [...]

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Every action that you take however small is creating your life story. You have the power to take action and change your future.

What are we up to with Kindspace?

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes It's been a while since we gave an update on our activities behind the scenes with our Kindspace wellbeing application for Amazon Alexa, so here is a little round-up of what we've been up to. Over the last few months our little team has nearly doubled in size.  We’ve been fortunate to be able to [...]

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Do you have a voice strategy? Why every business should consider voice technology in their strategy.

Why Every Business Should Consider Voice Technology in their Strategy

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes Introduction If someone would have said to me when I left my corporate career in the energy industry that I’d go on to working in the voice industry I’d definitely think that they were mad. We have gone through a very steep learning curve when it comes to setting up the business.  Navigating covid-19 and the [...]

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Sarah Taws Graduation Photos

Meet Sarah Taws

In the latest instalment of our blog series we interview Sarah Taws to find out more about how she got into Data Science, what it’s been like studying and working remotely, the things that you might find her doing outside of work and what advice she has for people interested in learning more about Data Science. We’re really fortunate to [...]

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News & Views - What is the Wellcare Economy?

News & Views – What is the Wellcare Economy?

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes Listen to this week’s news above or read on! Many people feel that technology is the cause of wellbeing issues, but we believe that it can be part of the solution and that smart home technologies in particular can be really beneficial in certain use cases. Over the last year I have learned so much about [...]

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News & Views - Loneliness, Resilience and Wellbeing

News & Views – Loneliness, Resilience & Wellbeing

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes Listen to this week’s news above or read on! We enjoy sharing information about technology, wellbeing, housing and social care that we find interesting.  For the past year, our social media was the main place that we published these articles and news stories.  Our blog has mainly covered internal news and more recently our interviews [...]

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News & Views - Wellbeing and Why It Matters

News & Views – Wellbeing and Why it Matters

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes Listen to this week’s news above or read on! We enjoy sharing information about technology, wellbeing, housing and social care that we find interesting.  For the past year, our social media was the main place that we published these articles and news stories.  Our blog has mainly covered internal news and more recently our interviews [...]

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Smart Meets Kind Fusion. Caroline Laurenson, Managing Director, TL Tech. Annie Gunner Logan, Chief Executive, Coalition of Care and support Providers in Scotland (CCPS)

Annie Gunner Logan Shares Her Amazing Insights into Adult Social Care

Estimated reading time: 13 minutes The more I learn about the world of adult social care, the more I am in awe of the amazing work that each person does to empower and support people to live their best lives. To be involved in even a small way feels really special. Over the last year, we’ve seen and experienced significant [...]

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News & Views - Health and Wellbeing Innovation and Partnerships

News & Views – Health and Wellbeing Innovation & Partnerships

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes Listen to this week’s news above or read on! We enjoy sharing information about technology, wellbeing, housing and social care that we find interesting.  For the past year, our social media was the main place that we published these articles and news stories.  Our blog has mainly covered internal news and more recently our interviews [...]

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News & Views - Applications of Research & Technology

News & Views – Applications of Research & Wellbeing Technology

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes Listen to this week’s news above or read on! We enjoy sharing information about technology, wellbeing, housing and social care that we find interesting.  For the past year, our social media was the main place that we published these articles and news stories.  Our blog has mainly covered internal news and more recently our interviews [...]

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News & Views Embracing Learning

News & Views – Embracing Life Long Learning

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes Listen to this week's news above or read on! The world has changed significantly in the last year.  This time last year we embarked on a mission to help people adopt voice assistant technology so that they could more easily communicate with their friends and family. At the same time, we started to learn more [...]

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30+ Digital Tools for Businesses on a Budget

30+ Digital Tools for Businesses on a Budget

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes Running your own business means you have to wear many hats and perform a wide range of tasks that you probably have never done before.  This can be even more challenging in a start-up environment where your business is creating a new unique product or service.  Money will also be tight, unless you are [...]

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Frances McIntosh

Frances McIntosh – Intentional Coaching

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes In this blog instalment we interview Frances McIntosh to find out more about her work as a coach and dietician.  I first met Frances at the Tech Hub run by ONECodebase in Aberdeen.  She is a woman of tremendous courage and I have learned so much from her.  Frances introduced me to the work [...]

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Linda Gray CEO of Inspire

Linda Gray on Why Social Care is a Great Vocation

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes I recently joined the Inspire PTL team as a Non-Executive Director.  I’m still finding my feet in this new role; learning about the organisation and about the challenges that are being faced, particularly at the moment within the sector. I am excited to be able to support the work that Inspire does and very [...]

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MRI of the Brain

Loneliness Changes the Brain

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes Loneliness is a complex issue, not least because it is influenced most by how someone feels about being alone, rather than the actual amount of time spent alone or with reduced social contact.  Someone can feel lonely when outwardly it may appear that they have sufficient social interaction, and equally, someone with very few [...]

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Donald Macaskill

Donald Macaskill Talks About Tech & Preserving Social Care

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes In this blog instalment we interview Donald Macaskill to find out more about his work as the CEO at Scottish Care and his views on technology use in the social care sector. It provides insight into: Donald’s background in health and social care and the things he’s passionate about.How technology interfaces with care and some of [...]

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"Live your life by a compass, not a clock" quote by Steven Covey. "The most challenging times bring us the most empowering lessons” quote by Karen Salmansohn. “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor” quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt

Taking A Different Tack

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes 2020 was a year of many changes and a year which has forever changed our business.  When we originally started our business, the vision was to be like the plumbers of the smart home world.  A service much like any other home trade to help people who maybe lack the know-how, tools or time [...]

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Kindspace Christmas eCard

A Kindspace Christmas

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes Our Christmas celebrations are definitely starting early this year.  We’ve had what is probably the most unusual and testing year.  Some days we’ve wanted to cry and others we’ve realised how much we have to be grateful for and hope pulls us through. This is just a very brief blog post to update you on [...]

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Kindspace graphic with mascots and speaker

The Story of the Kindspace Alexa Skill

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes The advancement of technology in recent years has made digital products and services more accessible and useful to broader groups of people. Nowadays, technology serves not only as an entertainment or recreational channel but can also improve and contribute to our wellbeing. At TL Tech we love to adapt everyday consumer electronics into assistive technology [...]

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Top Five Free Digital Wellbeing Tools

Top Five Free Digital Wellbeing Tools

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes Find out about yourself and your mental health Technology sometimes get a bad reputation as the root cause of our mental health and wellness issues.  Just like our diet, and even exercise, too much of a good thing can actually be bad, it is all about balance and knowing what is right for you.  Quite [...]

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Redefining the Role of the Smart Home

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes When we think about smart homes we often immediately think of the latest gadgets and the tech giants driving negative behaviours of consumerism. The products and services available lack any sense of cohesion and can often seem to be missing real purpose other than entertainment and time saving convenience. But what if the smart home [...]

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Diagram showing the recommended wiring for a smart home

Smart Home Choices Wired vs. Wireless

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes Introduction A question we get asked a lot by people doing major home renovations or a new build is whether they should include hardwired network connections throughout the home.  As with all questions there is no one right answer and the best solution for you will depend on a number of factors. As big fans of [...]

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Collage of photos of Ecaterina - outside Robert Gordons Uni, on the Arbroath cliffs, inside Robert Gordons Uni

Meet Ecaterina Vidrascu

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes In the latest instalment of our blog series we interview Ecaterina Vidrascu to find out more about how she got into Data Science, what brought her to Aberdeen, the things that you might find her doing outside of work and what advice she has for people interested in learning more about Data Science. We are [...]

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6 ways to have fun with Amazon Alexa

6 Ways to have Fun with Amazon Alexa

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes The way that people are interacting with technology is changing.  Indeed communication methods have seen massive changes over the last decade.  A voice assistant can be used to help you get organised, call friends and family and have fun.  There is a growing library of things to try out from music, books and learning [...]

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Smart home cyber security considerations

Smart Home Security Tips

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes One of the top reasons that people site when asked why they are not keen on adopting smart home technology is security.  There is a natural wariness about who has access to your data and how easy it might be for someone to enter your home through the internet connection to the devices you [...]

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Take care of your body, it's the only place you have to live, quote by Jim Rohn

6 Tips for a Happier, Healthier Lifestyle

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live” is a quote from motivational speaker Jim Rohn.  Jim dedicated his life to teaching others about personal development and entrepreneurship. Here are six tips to help support your wellbeing and empower you to make small changes that will lead to a happier [...]

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Our co-founder Caroline doing a tandem skydive in Perth in 2014

Inside the Mind of our Co-Founder Caroline

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes In the latest instalment of our blog series I share some insights to our business, my role and what motivates me.  You’ll find out how a Chemical Engineer found herself as Managing Director of a tech company and an entrepreneur! I’ll also share my thoughts on: Starting a business.Networking as an introvert.What it’s like working with [...]

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Illustration of trumpets

Lines and Dots – A Musical Interpretation

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes Our time on the Opportunity North East (ONE) Digital Accelerator in 2019 was a bit of a blur.  However, one piece of advice that really stuck with me and that we use within our business is “lines not dots”.  This originates from a guy called Mark Suster.  Here he explains about the interaction between [...]

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Amazon Alexa Show8 and Google Home Hub

6 Reasons Why You Should Invest in a Smart Video Speaker

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes There has never been a more important time to encourage access and inclusion for communication services. Even before covid-19 this was an issue recognised by the telecommunications industry and in particular the UK regulator Ofcom, who regularly monitor take up of services. It’s important that people are not disadvantaged or put off trying digital technologies, [...]

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Smart Dolls House

The Smart Home Way to Home School

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes In preparation for “going back to school” after the Easter holidays, we thought it would be fun to share some worksheets and ideas with you to try at home. As engineers we have a huge passion for promoting STEM and getting kids interested in finding out how the world around them works. This blog is [...]

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Bespoke WLED shelves with programmable colours

Thomas on Tech

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes In this instalment we interview our founder, Thomas Laurenson to find out more about his passion for smart homes and how people can get started with introducing some smart elements to their homes. What inspired you to create your business? I have always been interested in gadgets and fascinated to know not only how things work, but [...]

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