2014
Spotify coming to Canada
Canada always get's the short end of the stick when it comes to online streaming services. We get 5 year old films on Netflixs and music streaming services avoiding us like the plague. Spotify has been that elusive butterfly but not they announced they will be coming to Canada. We don't have a launch date but you can sign up for a pre-launch investigation. Go sign-up now (link)
Microsoft giving away hundreds of eBook titles for free
Microsoft just announced that it is giving away hundreds of free eBooks covering a wide swath of topics from Windows 8.1, Office 365, Azure and much much more. There are close to 300 different titles to choose from. Most books are available in multiple formats including PDF, ePub, DOC and MOBI. Books range from small 8 page titles to massive tomes. Click here to browse and download them now (link).
Real World Review of the Biolite CampStove
The Biolite CampStove has something of a cult following in the camping and survival world. It's claim to fame is its ability to burn easily available biomass (aka anything natural) and also recharge external USB powered devices. Some absolutely love it while others abhor it. The truth is that there are other products that can do each of the individual functions better (a battery for device recharging, a liquid gas stove for cooking, etc) but is the whole worth more than the sum of its parts?
21% of Canadian households are cell phone only
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“640”]Image by That Hartford Guy used under Creative Commons License [/caption] A recent StatsCanada report shows that Canadians are increasingly replacing their expensive home phone lines with their cellphones. Actually 21% of households have already made the switch to being cell phone only (13% in 2010). understandably this trend is stronger in the houses owned by sub 35 year olds. <img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/89e0fbe612.jpg" alt=""> Source : Stats Canada
Gmail adds 13 new languages
Email has become an indispensable business tools for millions of users around the world. To make email just that much more personal, the engineers at Google have now added 13 additional languages (bringing the total to 71). The new languages are: Afrikaans Armenian Azerbaijani Hong Kong Chinese French Canadian Galician Georgian Khmer Lao Mongolian Nepali Sinhala Zulu It's important to note that these are not just straight machine translations but rather carefully translated versions quality checked by linguists to ensure the translation is region specific (including nuances).
TSA requires your gadgets to power on
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“2500”]Image by Martin Abegglen used under Creative Commons License [/caption] The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says that users on some in-bound flights originating in certain overseas airports will have to prove [to the security agent] that their devices power on and work as expected. “Powerless devices will not be permitted onboard the aircraft. The traveler may also undergo additional screening.” — TSA The list of where this new rule will be implemented is not yet known so for now, make sure your devices have enough power to switch on and be used.
POV Video going down the world's tallest water slide
I love thrills like the next guy but this is kind of ridiculous. It is basically a 17 floor drop at about 100km/h. It is so fast that you'll already be in the catch pool by the time you realize you have made a horrible horrible mistake. The ride is composed of the scary horrifying death drop and a 4 person raft you slide down in. All I can say is thanks but no thanks
Hula Hoop tricks that will entertain and amaze
Since it's friday afternoon, why not post something a little light and put a smile on that face. Here is a young woman that manages to perform some amazing tricks using the plain old regular hula hoop.
6 justifications holding back your self-improvement
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“1944”]Image by Quinn Dombrowski used under Creative Commons License [/caption] Anytime we try to undertake change that is uncomfortable, our psyche tries to find "reasonable" justifications why we shouldn't do it. Some call these loopholes, some call them excuses and some call them false justifications. Regardless of what you call them, they are real. The purpose of creating this list is just to create awareness about them so you can catch yourself using them the next time.
SAVE 20% on Zagg Invisible Shield Screen Protectors
Zagg (link) is currently running a 20% off promo on their InvisibleShield skins with code USA20 (expires July 6) at checkout. This is the biggest discount we have seen for these protectors in 4-5 months so the price is very good. US Orders ship for free and international are done at a small fee. This protectors are available for every gadget available under the sun (almost) including: iPhone, iPad, Samsung Galaxy S5, Google Nexus 5, Kindles, Watches, etc.
Rebuilding broken Employee Engagement
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“1280”]Image by GDS-Productions used under Creative Commons License [/caption] Employee Engagement was incredibly popular in most mid to large organizations, then the recession hit and organizational survival become the modus operandi. It's not that employee engagement isn't important but rather less important than ensuring the survival of the company. With business and employee confidence back on the rise and the economy stabilizing, it's no wonder that HR departments and the organizational leadership are now trying to dial back into employee engagement (we are seeing employee engagement discussed at fireside chats during conferences, written about again in management magazines and discussed in HR oriented online forums.
A battery that can jumpstart your car or power your smartphone
I love portable battery packs because they make travel a lot more enjoyable allowing me to watch movies or listen to music much much longer than the devices built in battery. But these batteries are designed for smartphones or tablets and typically provide 1 or 2.1 amps of juice. Now Cobra has the JumPack which can deliver 400 amps of car starting power and can also power your smartphone or tablet with its 7500mAh built in battery (through its USB port).
Roam Mobility now has US 4G LTE Service
I have written a lot about Roam Mobility and love the fact I can freely use my smartphone without having to pay huge fees to my canadian carrier. Related Articles: Roam Mobility Offers Competitive US Roaming For Canadians Roam Mobility Offers Best US Roaming Deal For Canadians Rogers' US Roaming Versus Roam Mobility Roam Mobility Offers Unlimited Talk/Text/1GB Data For $39.95 Roam Mobility Breeze Unlocked GSM Phone Review Real World Testing And Review Of The Roam Mobility Service
Google bought Songza
It seems the rumours we had all heard were true and Google has finally snapped up Songza. Deal details were are not known but media believes the deal is worth 15M$. Some said this was done to improve Google Play Music All Access service others say it was a jab at Apple's 3B$ acquisition of Beats. Google issued a statement calming existing users by confirming that the service will continue as is (for the immediate future). Unfortunately I'm convinced they will kill the Songza service we know and love moving users to the Google paid monthly service.
The secret to Zippo's success
The founder of Zippo shares his most valuable secret to success.
Apple releases iOS 7.1.2 for iPhone and iPad
Apple has just released a minor update to IOS bringing the version to 7.1.2. Don't expect any major changes, this fixes an iBeacon bug, a data transfer bug from some 3rd party accessories and protects mail attachments with proper encryption. It's a 30 MB Over-the-Air (OTA) update for the iPad and 32MB for the iPhone. To get it, go to Settings > Software Update and voila.
Amazon App store offers 31 Android apps worth $100 for free
Amazon a running a fantastic promotion in their Amazon App store (link) right now (for 2 days). They are offering 31 decent popular apps and games for free. Outside of this promo, these would cost you $100 to buy. So this is definitely a download it now type of promo. Some other promos typically include 1 good app and 20 horribly designed crap but this is a decent list worth looking at. Apps like : Pinball Deluxe, Splashtop Remote HD, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Plex, Informant 3, and many more
Dell Chromebook 11 is the best chromebook you can buy
There are about a dozen different Chromebook models (from different manufacturers) each offering something a little but different. After comparing all the current models, I believe the Dell Chromebook 11 is the best bang for the buck. Unfortunately this model isn't offered in all regions (as an example it is not listed on Dell's Canadian site). “An important note is that Google will be updating ChromeOS to allow the execution of Android app in ChromeOS which means you may need a touchscreen device eventually.
Cliris cleans your glasses for you
I know cleaning your glasses is a lot of hard arduous sweat inducing work. You probably ask yourself all the time "there must be a better way". Why hasn't technology solved this age old problem already? Cliris is a new Kickstarter project that want to make your life just a little easier and make you just a little more lazy. In just four minutes, it will clean, disinfect, anti-fog treat and dry your glasses for you. Cliris uses ultrasonic technology (the same one used to clean jewelry for years) along with a biodegradable cleaning solution.
Smartphone charging pants
We live in a world that is repulsed by wires. We want everything wireless. Wireless headsets. Wireless networking. Wireless Qi based charging. Wireless, wireless, wireless. Now the world is a slightly better place because we finally have wireless smartphone charging pants (or as they call them in Europe Trousers). These pants have 2,400mAh of smartphone life giving energy coupled with a DC-50 induction charging plate. Place a compatible phone in the pocket and voila. This is the brainchild of British designer Adrien Sauvage working in collaboration with Nokia.