Technology

Prague Ranked as Second-Best City to Spend Cryptocurrency

There’s no easy way to buy, send or spend cryptocurrency in person — not even for a slice of pizza or a cup of coffee, or so it’s been said. Meanwhile, the number of physical merchant locations that accept crypto payments keeps growing. As of late October 2019, 15,558 business venues worldwide were accepting Bitcoin as a method of payment, up 18% from a year earlier, according to Coinmap.org. The crowdsourced heatmap, devised by Satoshi Labs in 2013, draws on input from consumers and merchants. While Europe remains the hottest continent for in-person Bitcoin transactions, the most torrid city is now Ljubljana in Slovenia, with 314 venues. Last year, Prague held that distinction. In Prague, one can reportedly rent apartments and attend films paying in crypto. The Czech capital counts 170 venues (bars, restaurants, hotels, cinemas, and other attractions) where Bitcoin is accepted as a method of payment. This also includes a dozen ATM’s where people are able to take out cash from digital currency accounts, and more than a dozen restaurants, cafés, and shopping venues. Prague is home to the Bitcoin Coffee, part of the Paralelni Polis building, an experimental alternative centre launched by art group Ztohoven in the Holešovice district, which also...

 by Prague Morning Oct 30, 2019

Build a Tiny House and Plant a Tree Through DONE

Plant a tree, build a house and beget a son. This is the oldest traditional list of life achievements that every good man should achieve. Thanks to the latest project of the Czech studio DDAANN and Lukáš Otevřel, virtually anyone can uncheck the first two tasks, thus giving them the opportunity to fulfill their third mission. Building your own house in the suburbs of a larger city can be very costly and up to many millions of crowns. Hence, post-construction is often accompanied by many compromises and concessions, making the resulting house not as comfortable as the owners originally imagined. An increasing number of people, and in other places, living in these dwellings are forming their own communities. This phenomenon arrived in the Czech Republic quite recently and it is still in its very beginnings. DONE and it’s done! Tiny house can be a real style, evidenced by the latest domestic project called Tiny House DONE, which allows an owner to not only own housing but the possibility to build their own house, as well. DONE is a minimalist prefabricated wooden building created by architects Daniel Baudis and Rohan from the DDAANN studio, who also teamed up with Lukáš Otevřel...

 by Shelsea D. Oct 24, 2019

Záchranka is Rescuing Czech Emergency Service Calls From Outdated Technology

The only European emergency medical service (EMS) mobile app Záchranka reached 1 million downloads in July 2019 after three years of saving lives by locating people in case of an accident or emergency. The Záchranka EMS app, financially supported by the Vodafone Foundation, provides emergency services with the most accurate GPS location and all the data phones have about users of the app to help dispatchers and other EMS workers to find and save injured people quicker. The number of calls from this app has reached over 30,000 with 50 calls received every day. How does the software work? After you press the app’s emergency button, the app connects you directly to the emergency rescue services and also sends an emergency message with your exact location and other information. If you use the app to call 155 in the mountains, the app will recognise this based on your GPS coordinates and will also send an emergency message to the nearest Mountain Rescue service in that area. Besides sending your location and connecting you to EMS dispatcher, the Záchranka app can also serve as an encyclopedia in which you can find the first-aid manual and the map to see the nearest...

 by Temir Asanov Oct 11, 2019

Prague Ranks 19th in Smart City Index

Prague ranks among top 20 smartest city in the world, the inaugural IMD Smart City Index showed. 

 by Prague Morning Oct 04, 2019

More Metro Stops Covered by WiFi and 4G Signal

Passengers in Prague's metro can now use the LTE mobile network on line C from Roztyly to Nádraží Holešovice.

 by Lidia T. Oct 02, 2019

Czech Republic to Launch Competition to Test 5G Technologies

The Czech Republic is launching a competition for towns and municipalities to test 5G technologies, following a national strategy approved in May. “5G technologies are crucial to the development of local governments,” commented the Czech deputy prime minister and minister of industry and trade, Karel Havlíček. “As a result, municipalities will be able to work more closely with companies and universities on new systems such as smart transportation, security and digital applications for citizens. All in the spirit of making the Czech Republic a country of the future.” One of the main goals of the auction is to promote increased competition within the Czech market and to attract new market entrant(s). It is hoped that this will help to reduce the current high costs of mobile services in the Czech Republic. To this end, block allocation of the 2×10 MHz spectrum in the 700 MHz frequency band will be reserved exclusively for new operators. The competition will show both municipalities and citizens how new technologies can help to improve the quality of life. “Our aim is to promote the competitiveness of regions using smart approaches while avoiding regional disparities,” added Minister for Regional Development Klára Dostálová. The Czech Telecommunication Office plans...

 by Prague Morning Sep 18, 2019

Czech Lawmakers Moves Forward With Digital Tax

The Czech Finance Ministry submitted plans to start taxing global internet giants from the middle of 2020, proposing a 7% rate on targeted advertising, multilateral digital interface use and user data sales, it said on Thursday. The tax will apply to revenues from online advertising, the sale of user data, and intermediation services, and will only target companies with a global turnover of 750 million euros or more with sales in the Czech Republic of at last 50 million crowns (1.9 million euros) per year. The tax could raise state revenue of 2.1 billion crowns for the 2020 budget and 5 billion crowns annually after that. “Internet giants do not pay taxes in our country to an extent that would match their profits, which is unfair to other companies in the Czech Republic that pay taxes,” said Finance Minister Alena Schillerová. “We have long supported the search for a common international solution, but unfortunately negotiations at EU and OECD levels will take some time. And because we can no longer wait and see the unequal competition of global giants with other entrepreneurs, we come up with our own temporary digital tax adjustment until an international compromise will be found.” The Czech Republic...

 by Prague Morning Sep 07, 2019

Prague Airport Is Introducing Digital Signage

Korean, Chinese, Arabic, Russian, and naturally Czech and English. Digital signage, which was launched for passengers at Prague Airport and is located at the entrance to pier B in Terminal 1, is available in six language versions. The signage offers information displayed on digital screens and reflects the current traffic and passenger flow throughout the day. The new technology is now being tested. If it proves successful, the airport is planning to install it in other locations as part of its daily operations. “As the number of flights at Prague Airport continues increasing, so does the number of passengers with specific language requirements. The growing amount of air traffic calls for information to be provided faster and more efficiently. Therefore, digital signage is another project of Prague Airport´s technology development, which goes hand-in-hand with its construction development,” says Václav Řehoř, chairman of the board of directors of Letiště Praha. The new digital signage system can be found at the entrance to pier B in Terminal 1 and includes a total of eight screens. It responds in six selected languages depending on the specific locations from where passengers have come or to where they are going at any given moment. This means...

 by Prague Morning Aug 12, 2019

Uber Offers a "Quiet Mode" so You Can Take Your Trip in Peace

Tired of chatty drivers? Uber is giving users its most requested feature: an in-app way to ask for minimal conversation during your ride. The “Quiet Mode” feature is free and will be available to everyone in the U.S. tomorrow, but only on Uber Black and Uber Black SUV premium rides. Users can select “Quiet preferred,” “happy to chat” or leave the setting at “No preference.” The desire for silence might convince more riders to pay for Uber’s more expensive vehicle types so they can work, nap, take a call or just relax in the car. Uber’s app now also lets Uber Black riders select the temperature of their vehicle so you can ensure it feels just right inside when it shows up, and you can also let the driver know if you have any bags with you so they can hop out and assist you. There’s also the chance to extend the pickup period by up to 15 minutes at no extra cost should you need a little longer to get ready. Uber also wants to ensure Uber Black riders can expect a consistent level of quality from professional drivers (with commercial licenses) and their cars, which will have similar models, makes, interiors,...

 by Prague Morning May 15, 2019

Search