MarcForrest.com

Category: Tech News

  • Ride with the World from Your Living Room – Get a Month of Zwift for Free!

    Ride with the World from Your Living Room – Get a Month of Zwift for Free!

    Are you tired of the same old boring indoor cycling workouts? Zwift might just be the solution you need. This virtual cycling platform lets you ride with others from all over the world, join races and events, and conquer famous mountain climbs – all from the comfort of your living room. And the best part? You can try it out for free for a whole month by using this link: https://www.zwift.com/invite/e7TRq6Nujv.

    What is Zwift, exactly? It’s a virtual reality game for cyclists. You connect your indoor bike to the platform, and it simulates riding on the road. With different worlds to choose from, like London, New York, and Watopia, you can ride solo or with others. Plus, you get to create your own avatar, unlock new gear and bikes, and join coaching programs or guided workouts.

    But why should you give Zwift a try? For one, it’s a great way to stay motivated and have fun while you cycle indoors. Riding with others and participating in races and events can make your workouts fly by and challenge you to push harder. And with new routes and climbs to explore, you’ll never get bored.

    Zwift is also an excellent tool for tracking your progress and improving your fitness. You can monitor your power output, heart rate, and other metrics in real-time, and see how you’re improving over time. Plus, with plenty of training programs and workouts to choose from, Zwift can help you achieve your fitness goals, whether you’re training for a big race or just trying to get in better shape.

    So, what are you waiting for? Try Zwift for free for a whole month by using this link: https://www.zwift.com/invite/e7TRq6Nujv. You might just find that it’s the missing piece to your indoor cycling routine.

  • Get 20% Discount on MySwimPro Elite Subscription

    Get 20% Discount on MySwimPro Elite Subscription

    20% Discount code MARC20 

    I have been using the MySwimPro app for just over a year now. It is one of the best apps out there if you keen on learning to swim, a dedicated swimmer or just want to learn more about swimming. If you have read my story about swimming the (in 2 weeks time!!)

    The MySwimPro app offers a Free and Elite version of the product. The Free version allows you to do a couple of things including:

    • Write and log an unlimited number of workouts.
    • Load an unlimited number of Custom workouts to a compatible smartwatch.
    • Quick Log.
    • An entire Training Plan
    • Custom workout builder and save up to three workouts to your personal library.
    • Profile to show distance swum.
    • Earn achievements based on distance and number of workouts logged.
    • Global community of fellow swimmers.

    There are 3 components to the Elite version. You can select all 3 and pay a once off annual fee of $119 (which is actually a 55% saving) or you can select a specific component of the Elite version. The 3 components are

    Training

    • Unlimited Workouts
    • Training Plans
    • Fresh Workout of the Day
    • Personalized Dynamic Interval

    Technique

    • Instructional HD Videos
    • Technique Drills for Every Stroke
    • Body Position and Breathing Reference Guide
    • Flipturn Course

    Analytics

    • Heart Rate Analysis
    • Strokes Per Lap
    • Splits
    • SWOLF
    • Profile Analytics

    If you looking to get started I would suggest going for the Training component, which is $4.99 a month, which you can then bill annually and works out to $59.99 a year.

    I recently got the opportunity to join the MySwimPro Ambassador programme, which allows me to share this app even more. One of the benefits of being an Ambassador is I can offer a 20% discount on the Elite Subscription

    So to take advantage of the 20% discount, you go to https://myswimpro.com/elite/packs/ and select the package you want to use. If you haven’t signed up already you sign up and then use the Promo Code MARC20  on checkout to claim your 20% discount. Simple as that :)

    If you do use MySwimPro or plan on using it pop a comment below and let me know how it’s all going!

  • Qustodio from Appsafe – Awesome Parental control software

    Qustodio from Appsafe – Awesome Parental control software

    It’s been a while since I have come across a really good app that I don’t mind paying a subscription for. And being a dad to 3 (awesome) kids, I want to ensure my kids are safe on the internet. All 3 of my kids have iPads, which we bought a few years ago, and I have heard some horror stories recently about how kids have been dared or sent to the dark ugly internet.

    I am a firm believer that our kids were born into this technology era, so we need to embrace it, but have to ensure that we protect them and give them the tools to ensure they and the devices they using are safe.  The key for me for these types of issues is to ensure they is a) a trust between child & parent, and b) an education from parent to child to warn them about the realities of what is really out there.

    So when a friend of mine told me about an awesome new app he was going to start reselling in South Africa through his company called AppSafe, called Qustodio, I had to check it out.

    Qustodio is one of many solutions on the internet that allow parents to monitor and control devices. There are plenty of solutions, but I haven’t seen one as comprehensive as Qustodio and at a really affordable price. For only R650 a year, you can protect up to 5 devices across your family. You can install Qustodio on iOS, Android, Windows & even Mac.

    Some of the features that stand out for me on Qustodio include:

    • Setting multi-device time limits, right down to app level. So if I only want my kids to be on Youtube for 1 hour a day, I can set that per day
    • You can view social media network activity, with a full report of new friends added etc
    • Block Pornography and other dodgy sites. Some really scary stuff out there!
    • Track SMS & Calls
    • Location tracking & panic button for mobile devices

    You also get a daily email that is sent to your account with a summary of the history on the devices for the previous day. This is really great to see what your kid has been up to.

    So many people ask me, but why would you want to restrict your child? Again, I believe that we are really just protecting our children from is out there. Having been in the internet industry for around 18 years now, I can promise you I have seen it all. I would rather give my kids tools to help protect them!

    You can purchase a One Year 5 device license for only R650 from AppSafe.co.za. This works out a LOT cheaper that having to buy it in USD. They also are really helpful when it comes to support and also offer a 14 day money back guarantee if you are unhappy with your purchase. You can also email them on [email protected]

    Disclaimer: I was not asked or paid to write about this service. It really is a fantastic service and well, well worth the money!

  • Buying Bitcoins in South Africa

    Buying Bitcoins in South Africa

    If you been following the trends online you will see Bitcoin is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s day and age. I can’t profess to know too much about Bitcoin or what it means for the future (there are some very clever people out there who do know) but I realised that it might be worth getting on the Bitcoin bandwagon sooner rather than later. The price of Bitcoin is currentley at it’s highest and is moving on up!

    Bitcoin is a virtual currency that was created in 2010, and allows people to use it online to pay for things. In some places you can even use it as real world currency, so it is gaining traction.

    I have been doing a bit of reading and digging to find out how to buy bitcoins in South Africa. Obviously, Bitcoins are quite pricy for 1 BTC (around R14,000 at the time of writing) so you can buy in smaller fractions, and I suppose eventually work your way up to full Bitcoins.

    Bitcoin Wallets

    The first thing you need is a . There are a number of ways you can do this, like storing them on your PC, online or even in a community or buyers. I wanted something simple, so after a bit of digging I came across . This is an online Bitcoin wallet which allows you to store you Bitcoins safely and securely. The only thing you can’t do is buy and sell Bitcoins through . This is not too much of an issue though, as you can still send & receive bitcoins

    Purchasing Bitcoins

    Once you have your Bitcoin wallet setup, you will then need to start . Now this is not as simple as walking into a bank and buying foreign currency, as there are a number of bitcoin exchanges where you buy and sell bitcoin. One of the more popular exchanges in SA is called Luno, although I haven’t used it (yet)

    After some digging around I eventually found a platform called  which allows you to purchase Bitcoins either in your currency or using online payment platforms like PayPal. I found a trusted seller in South Africa where I could pay via EFT, and bought R150 worth of bitcoin. This only works out to a measly 0.0106 BTC, but hey it’s a start :)

    I went through the motions and did an EFT and the Bitcoins were deposited into my  account. I then was able to move them over to my wallet where I can monitor them. The key to this site is to ensure you are buying from a trusted “seller” All sellers have ratings and the site is closely monitored for fraud etc.

    There are also international sellers who allow you to pay via PayPal, but you have to ensure you have a verified account before you can proceed with these. The only con against using something like is that the price you are buying the bitcoins for is a lot higher than the going published bitcoin rate. As an example when I bought mine the “official” bitcoin price was around R14,000 but the going rate on was around R16,000, so you definitely get the shorter straw.

    There is another way to buy Bitcoin using PayPal, using a site called , but it is quite a trick to get it right, and also a couple of fees and takes a while to get authorised. I will do another post on this way soon, and also test it out to see if it works.

    Disclaimer: As I said above I am absolutely no professional on how Bitcoin works, and what the ins and outs are. These posts are merely my research into how it all works, and can’t gaurantee anything. I am testing the waters to see what all the “hype” is about. I’ll be updating the blog with some of my findings as I go along :) I will also be enabling comments on this post for disucssion if anyone has some info or tips about Bitcoin
    Some of the links above are affiliate links which could help me and support me with this research 

  • Afrihost now offering Mi Smartphones with FREE Data!

    Afrihost now offering Mi Smartphones with FREE Data!

    mi5_dual_1The team at Afrihost & Mobile In Africa, who distribute the Xiaomi products in South Africa, have joined up and are offering some awesome deals on Xiaomi phones. And the best part of the deal is you get a FREE data sims, loaded every month, for a YEAR when you sign up for one of the phones.

    Having reviewed the Mi4, Mi5 & Redmi Note 3, these are some of the best phones at that price point. They match up to phones that are much much higher up the price scale. As an example, the Redmi Note 3 which I recently reviewed, offers Dual Sim capabilities, which means with this Afrihost deal you can now just use the Data Sim for data, and your normal sim for voice & SMS. Bonus!!

    The phones on offer are as follows:

    • Redmi 2 8GB – R1799 (With 500MB Free Data PM x 12)
    • Redmi Note 2 – R2799 (With 500MB Free Data PM x 12)
    • Redmi 3 32GB – R3299 (With 500MB Free Data PM x  12)
    • Mi Max – R4699 (With 1GB Free Data PM x 12)
    • Mi5 – R7999 (With 2GB Free Data PM x 12)

    The phones are available for purchase today through the Afrihost website, and come with FREE delivery!

    Afrihost Logo

    This is an awesome deal if you looking for a decent spec for, for an affordable price WITH Free data!!