All posts by Steve Makris

HUAWEI MAKES A BIG SPLASH WITH FOLDABLE MATE X, DAYS AFTER SAMSUNG

 Day one at the 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona is off to a head-turning news on mobile devices.Unless you are directly involved with the upcoming super-fast 5G network, I will spare you the news flurry of every player who is the game, that won’t see the light of day in Canada this year.

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GM US/CANADIAN DESIGNED eBIKES LAUNCH IN EUROPE

Say hello to the Meld and Merge flashy new eBikes from GM’s newly named ARĪV line. The launch contributes to General Motors vision of a world with zero emissions and zero congestion.

The compact design of ARĪV eBikes allow for easy transit and more convenient storage.

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THE UNREAL WORLD OF CES 2019

CES 2019 has left the building. Before I jump into my annual CES rant I want to share a moment. A tale of two worlds happening at the same right to the closing day.

The production model LG 4K OLED 65″ rollable flex screen stole the show at CES 2019

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BUILD YOUR OWN SPEEDY DESKTOP AND SAVE

Want to build your very own desktop Windows 10 PC and get more computer for your money? It might by daunting for the timid but an experienced tech friend or established computer parts stores across Canada like Memory Express in Western Canada will assemble your new custom desktop with parts you choose from the store. Use my article below as a guide for the minimum required value priced hardware…and where you could splurge.

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THE 12 SECURITY TIPS OF CHRISTMAS

Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 Threat Research Team just published a list of 12 Holiday tips that you can take to ensure some basic security and privacy for new devices quickly and easily that can help you be safer and not spoil your unboxing fun. Shared here on my blog.

OK folks, having some fun here with a serious message. How you pick passwords and settings for your smart phones, online health, music or secure accounts, your home Wi-Fi, smart speakers and game consoles in addition to voice assistants, smart cars and finally making sure they are all updated is important.

That’s a lot of digital stuff you need to secure!

If all this is overwhelming for you, ask a techie friend to show you how.

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CYBER MONDAY FOR CANADIANS

If you thought Black Friday was a record-setting online shopping day, then be prepared for Cyber Monday which is already underway.

Online commerce tracking expert Adobe Analytics predicts Cyber Monday is expected to be the biggest online shopping day in history in the US, generating $7.8 billion in sales, 17.3 % YoY growth. That’s with over $2 billion in online sales expected to come from smartphones alone. Adobe Analytics accurately predicted a record $6.22 billion was spent online by the end of Black Friday, an increase of 23.6% YoY.  Proportionally Canada would be following similar ratios.

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BLACK FRIDAY FOR CANADIANS-A ONE STOP

Black Friday in Canada. Need I say more?

If Canadian shopping trends follow US trends, here are some eye-popping shopping live stats in the US on Thanksgiving Day today as of the writing of this article, updated at 7 p.m. ET

Thanksgiving is currently on track to be one of the fastest growing retail days in online shopping history. Based on Adobe Analytics data,  $1.75 billion  was spent online as of 5 p.m. ET on Thanksgiving Day, representing 28.6% growth YoY. Based on today’s strong growth rate,  Adobe Analytics expects Thanksgiving Day to reach a record $3.7 billion in online retail sales, up 29% from 2017. It’s expected $38.0 billion will have been spent online between 11/1 and 11/22,

Smartphones are driving a record 54.4% of all traffic to retail sites so far on Thanksgiving Day (vs just 46.1% on Thanksgiving Day 2017).

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GOOGLE NEW NIGHT SIGHT FEATURE MAKES NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY A SNAP

Starting today, Google Pixel 3 smartphone owners can easily capture great images in the darkest of scenes with the new Night Sight feature. Available online by simply updating the Google Camera App online, or downloading the new version for the first time, Night Sight becomes a new feature on the Pixel 3 with the ability to shoot good pictures in almost non-existing light.

Mirror mirror on the wall which camera phone is the brightest of them all. Huawei Mate Pro 20 Pro Night mode, left, duke it out with the new Bright Night on the Pixel 3…how did the compare?

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SAMSUNG SHOWS HOLY GRAIL OF DISPLAY TECH…FLEXIBLE SCREENS

When I asked Bill Gates 17 years ago at the Windows XP launch to share his crystal ball on the hottest technology of the future his reply was instant. “Flexible screen display,” he said. This was when cell phones were in the flip stage, Samsung wasn’t a big player and six years before the first iPhone launched.

Well, here we are in 2018 with the most exciting months-long tech buzz seeing the Holy Grail of screen display technology for real.

The Galaxy X phone unfolding to a tablet

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THE VOID VIRTUAL REALITY WALKS THE WALK

With Halloween just around the corner, what better way to experience a state-of-the-art personal ultra-scary themed virtual reality show.  The VOID’s Nicodemus: Demon of Evanishment playing at The VOID in The Rec Room at West Edmonton Mall and The Rec Room at the Toronto Roundhouse is a must see on how VR has evolved in the past several years. And get scared!

Your’s truly with Yanni, Dino and Eleni at Nicodemus: Demon of Evanishment at The VOID in The Rec Room at West Edmonton Mall

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