technology
Samsung Galaxy S5 secrets revealed
With an expected release around April, sites around the internet are buzzing with claimed spec leaks for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphones. So far, we believe Samsung will release 2 version of the Galaxy S5: One in typical plastic sold for around $800 off contract One with a premium metal body that will release for around $1000 off contract Leaks also indicate that we will see a Samsung Galaxy S5 mini and an S5 zoom Spec wise:
Google buys Nest for 3.2B$
In December, I wrote an article (link) about Google working on a smart thermostat as a play for the connected home. A couple of days ago, we learned that Google has acquired the 800-lb gorilla in smart thermostat technologies, Nest Labs. Nest is the first company to successfully break into the home automation mass market with its smart internet connected thermostat and fire detector. It brought the promise of long term energy savings through intelligent automatic temperature control and the ability to control it via your Android or IOS smartphone.
Videotron Mobility may be expand outside of Quebec
Videotron has been a fierce competitor in the wireless space in Quebec and has forced other wireless carriers into creating Quebec only low cost monthly plans to stay competitive. This is exactly what the Canadian government wanted to do when they decided to foster competition. Videotron spent a cool $500M during the last AWS auction spectrum (for Quebec and some parts of Ontario). The latest stats indicate that they have picked up about 500,000 loyal wireless subscribers making them the 6th largest Canadian wireless carrier.
Safespot is your personal safety concierge
Safespot is an Android app that helps keep you safe in unsafe situations. The way it works is like a deadman switch. You choose a group to notify and a virtual button shows up on the screen. You keep your finger on that button as long as things are safe. The minute you let go of the button (in the event of an emergency), it notifies that selected group that you're in trouble and provides a Google Map link to your exact location.
Rogers to launch Netflix competitor for Canadians
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“818”]CC Image Flickr User A ustinEvan [/caption] Cartt.ca is reporting that Rogers is spending more than $100M to design and launch a Canadian Netflix competitor. The report states that Rogers has already signed licensing agreements with Disney/ABC, Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, plus a handful of Canadian content owners such as Bell Media and Shaw. The always trustworthy (said sarcastically) anonymous source said " They are buying up all the rights, all the windows, to everything in order to keep them out of the hands of Netflix in Canada.
Canadian 2500 Mhz auction begins April 2015
The Canadian Minister of Industry, the honourable James Moore, has made it official that Canada's 2500 Mhz auction will take place April 14 2015 and applications from interested parties must be received by November 27 2014. The minister reiterated that he would like to see increased competition in the Canadian wireless market and as such will adopt the same auction principles as that being used for the 700Mhz bands beings auctioned this year. The minister will implement spectrum caps to ensure at least 4 different providers win parts of the 2500 Mhz spectrum thus ensuring competition.
ClipMenu helps manage your Mac's clipboard
For some a simple copy / paste is more than enough. Others want a little more control and for them there is a free Mac app called ClipMenu (link). It automatically saves the last 8 items copied to your clipboard and you can easily paste any of them back by: invoke the app using the chosen shortcut choosing the item number you want pasted That's it. Its a free app based on user donations so take it for a spin.
Is your SD card hacking you?
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“1024”]CC Image - Flick user scanlime [/caption] Think of all of the information your SD cards have seen, questionable pictures, sensitive data. Hardware hacker Bunnie Huang (link) gave an interesting presentation to the Chaos Computer Club Congress that highlighted the fact that SD cards are micro controllers with lax security that can easily be used to trick or hack you. He first sets the tone of the presentation with this statement: "lash memory is really cheap. So cheap, in fact, that it’s too good to be true.
Secret to picking the right AA battery
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“720”]Creative Commons Image - Flicker Swanksalot [/caption] You probably received all kinds of shiny new gizmos for christmas and some of them may need AA batteries. Which ones should you choose? Devices fall into 2 categories : High Drain Devices - These are electronic devices that require a sizeable amount of sustained current to work (like a digital camera, camera flash, etc) Low Drain Devices - These require low amounts of power for short periods at spaced out intervals (like a remote control, alarm clock , etc) There are 2 main AA disposable battery technologies:
AudioFly AF78 - a new earphone king
What am I looking for? Before I review the Audiofly 78 with microphone, I wanted to take 2 minutes and explain what I look for in headphones or earphones. When testing audio gear (particularly headphones and earphones), I am looking for flat frequency response. Flat doesn't mean boring but rather it means the headphones reproduce the soundtrack exactly as the producer intended it. When travelling or working, I may have my headphones on hour hours and therefore I am looking for a sound profile that doesn't tire my ears and I look for products that are comfortable to wear.
BBM Voice chat coming to IOS and Android next year
BBM for IOS and Android has been available for some time but it still lacks many of the features found on the BB10 version. Now Blackberry has let the cat out of the bag and everyone can expect functional parity between all of the different versions in 2014. You don't use a BB10 device so you're wondering what's in store? 2 features: BBM Voice - Is a VOIP service similar to Skype or FaceTime Audio BBM Channels - Is Blackberry's own social media network that reminds me of twitter.
The most unique print ad you have to see
In the age of the internet, traditional print advertisements may seem boring but Motorola will be jazzing it up in the January issue of Wired. Motorola released a US custom built Android smartphone called the MotoX. Motorola created a special website called Motomaker which allows US buyers to customize their device. Now they are bringing this customization to this unique print ad campaign which will allow you to see how the different MotoX colours look in realtime in the magazine.
A Google Thermostat coming to a house near you
This is an interesting development that no one was expecting. TheInformation.com and EVLeaks have confirmed that Google is working on an internet connected thermostat (similar to the Nest). The current rumour says Google is developing the software and backend controls but the actual device will be developed by a third party. It is also expected to work on Android and IOS. It is exciting to think of what Google may be able to do combining a WIFI thermostat with their huge cloud number crunching AI.
Turn your iphone into a free christmas karaoke machine
Open the Safari web browser on your iphone Go to [www.google.com](http://www.google.com) Search for Let's Go Caroling Voila.... You get the above screen with 5 popular christmas songs ready to go
Never pay retail again
No one likes paying retail and I'm always looking for ways to save. RetailMeNot has both a US and Canadian site. Its sole purpose in life is to provide money saving coupons for online sites you already use. You go to the site and search for the retailer you are about to conduct a transaction with: <img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/3edcb228d8.jpg" alt=""> Most of the time, you will be presented with a series of discounts for each retailer, you select the promo that looks the most attractive and click on the Show Coupon Code.
Students using iPads as glorified textbooks in class
The iPad has captured most of the Canadian education market (some have pegged it's market share at 90%). The Canadian Research Chain in Technologies in Education recently undertook an interesting study of 6000 iPad totting Quebec students. The study found that for every 60 minute chunk of class, 88.5% of students used their device for at least 30minutes. What did they do you ask? Most used them as expected to read textbooks or take notes. It was surprising to see that students typically used these devices as teaching support aids (exactly as the educators intended)and not entertainment devices.
Apple offers free iTunes gift today
Apple has an app on the iTunes AppStore called 12 days of gifts (link). Every day (starting December 26th) Apple will offer a free iTunes gift to its customers (for 12 days). These gifts can be songs, TV shows, movie rentals and iBooks content. Apple seems to be in a giving mood and has already opened up a mini album from Lorde featuring her new song No Better and her music video for Royals. The content can only be downloaded via the special app (not directly from iTunes).
Buy a Pebble SmartWatch for $89.99
The Pebble is a neat little watch but most don't want to pay the $119-150 price. How do you feel about paying $89.99 for it (shipping included)? If you have access to a .edu email account (students, teachers, faculty and alumni) you can get yourself a brand new flashy Pebble smart watch for $89.99. This is the cheapest I have seen this watch and this promo is being offered by BestBuy (link). Sorry this is a US only promo.
Clean Install Windows 8 with an upgrade key
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“2500”]Creative Commons Image - Flicker user Tripp [/caption] Let's say you bought one of those $30 Windows upgrade promotion keys from Microsoft last year and now want to perform a clean install. What do you do? The media you downloaded does allow you to perform the install but windows will refuse to activate a new install with that upgrade key. Unless you perform this magical process. If you don't know what you are doing, stop and call a friend.
My top 10 Mac OS applications
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“720”]CC Image - Flickr Sean MacEntee [/caption] I have been a technologist for the past 20 years helping customers streamline operations, reduce costs or increase profitability through the efficient use of technology. Over the years, the technologies have changed but one that has remained fairly influential over the last 10 years has been Microsoft Windows. Not only has it been a strong business platform but it has been my main personal (home use) platform. With Windows 8 and the increasingly unfriendly user interface, I finally decided it was time to finally go back to the Apple platform for personal use.