lifestyle, Technology

Save lot’s on Amazon PrimeDay for Canada, tonight!

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My Amazon Prime Purchaces saved me more than $100, enough to pay the annual membership and free 2-day delivery
My Amazon Prime purchases saved me more than $100, enough to pay the annual membership and free 2-day delivery

Amazon Canada’s 24-hour digital boxing day equivalent PrimeDay is back tonight at midnight PT. You have to be an Amazon Prime member, or start with a one-month free trial. The one-year membership for Canadians costing $79 (plus tax) is a watered down version of the pricier $99 USD US membership, minus the Media Entertainment features.

Is the $79 CDN Amazon Prime membership worth it? It depends on how you use it. My one-year media trial membership is up this Saturday.

Was it worth it for me? Yes! I ordered 10 items for a total of $204.60. I saved more than $100 compared to other online stores, including regular Amazon and real local stores on equivalent items.

Continue reading Save lot’s on Amazon PrimeDay for Canada, tonight! →

Creative Computing, laptops, Office, Technology

HP plans to simplify device management with DaaS

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In a world where invisible digital cloud computing runs our lives, HP is announcing a new service designed to look after the analog side of things: devices.

Today HP announces Device as a Service (DaaS) with a goal to remove one of the pain points in business of any size – laptops, desktops, tablets, monitors and more.

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Adobe addresses pain points with time and money saving improvements in Adobe CC

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Note: check  out Adobe’s brief video on the enhancements below to fully appreciate the Adobe Stock and CC Desktop new features.

Today Adobe  launches updates to its flagship Creative Cloud tools and services. It includes new features in Adobe’s flagship applications, performance enhancements across Creative Cloud (CC), and updates to Adobe Stock — including deeper integration within CC and the addition of an all-new Premium Collection of high quality stock content.

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Creative Computing, Design, Technology

New HP Jet Fusion 3D print technology is beyond rocket science

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If you think 3D printing is cool, then get ready for 3D printing HP style. This week HP Inc. unveiled the world’s first production-ready commercial 3D printing system. It’s a 3D print prototyping and manufacturing system on steroids, using the HP Jet Fusion 3D 3200 and 4200 printer.

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Taking the new LG G5 super wide mode for a spin

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The just released LG G5 16 MP smart phone modular design phone is many things to many folks. From creating and sharing your own 360 VR clips to watching your own VR or shared content on the very compact LG 360 VR headset, its hard to not like the G5 and “Friends” .

Personally, the super wide 135 degree shooting and video mode of the G5 rocks for me. Here is a collection of photos in recent tech trips abroad, all on the super wide mode. I even shot selfies with the same rear lens by setting the camera on timer!

For more on the LG G5 VR wild side, check out my Global TV Sunday Morning News tech segment

Framing the Great Wall in China from tight spaces was a piece of cake with the LG G5 super wide 135 degree mode
Framing the Great Wall in China from tight spaces was a piece of cake with the LG G5 super wide 135 degree mode

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Photography, smartphone technology

Samsung Galaxy S7 sets new standard for camera phones

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Samsung Galaxy 5.5 -inch dual curved S7 edge left and 5.1-inch S7 right

Samsung Galaxy 5.5 -inch dual curved S7 edge left and 5.1-inch S7 right

Today Samsung’s new flagship  5.1-inch Galaxy S7, $400 with two-year term and 5.5-inch S7 edge featuring dual curves, $500 with two-year term are available in Canadian stores.

Both have longer battery life, always on display, are waterproof/dustproof, microSD expansion, 4 GB RAM and more.

Its totally redesigned smaller 12 megapixel rear camera with f1.7 lens is now the de facto standard for mobile camera phones. The faster lens and larger pixel sensor let more light in and cleaner noise free imaging.

I posted the following portfolio of an early version of the Galaxy S7 edge on my Facebook page   shortly after its launch in Barcelona on the eve of Mobile World Congress 2016.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S7 sets new standard for camera phones →

Best Speakers, Design, lifestyle, shopping laptops, smart watches, smartphone technology, Technology, Valentines Day Gifting

Stumped for Valentines Day Tech?

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Valentines Day is about expressing kind thoughts about folks you care about. Here is some enduring smart technology gifting, much of which can be shared. It is a click or a drive away. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive or outlandish tech. It simply cuts to the chase with smart design and value.

And needless to say, fun to give, receive and share!

SMARTPHONES

The HTC ONE A9 comes unlocked and can duke it out with top tier phones for less
The HTC ONE A9 comes unlocked and can duke it out with top tier phones for less

-The HTC One A9, available for $649 at HTC’s site only,   comes unlocked. You get what you pay for and its a lot, matching tier one phones costing hundereds more. It looks so much like an iPhone but it runs Android Marshmallow with cutting-edge features like optical image stabilization for it rear 13 MP camera, Full HD video for both rear and front UltraPixel camera which outshoots any phone selfie camera, with one of the widest lens views. The Corning Gorilla Glass full HD screen is plenty crisp with wide angle viewing. The slick touch finger reader is an unexpected bonus as is the extra powerful (loud) built-in DAC 24-bit, 192KHz – better than CD quality audio. You have to pair the BoomSound technology in this thin metal and glass beauty with the awesome HTC Pro Studio Earphones $107.99 at Amazon.ca.

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Creative Computing, Design, health, lifestyle, smart watches, smartphone technology, Technology, Uncategorized

CES 2016 shows thousands of global technology gizmos and ideas

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The 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is the Mecca of inventiveness. More than 3,800 vendors ranging from tech giants Samsung, Sony and LG with booths the size of several ice arenas to one person 4 square meter single table booths swayed more than 170,000 attendees including some 50,000  outside the U.S.

Check out my coolest YouTube linked products at CES by clicking on the linked names.

Samsung Family Hub Fridge at CES commanded much attention. Priced at more than $6,000 CDN, it will be in Canada later this year pending negotiations with online grocery venues in Canada.  It features a 21.5 inch 1080p touch screen, three interior shelve cams, self digital food labelling with expiry dates, screen photo albums, online grocery ordering, weather and more. You can also see what’s in your fridge, live, with a phone app and switch the lower right compartment to a freezer when needed.

LG Signature series features semi transparent glass door
LG Signature series features semi transparent glass door

Continue reading CES 2016 shows thousands of global technology gizmos and ideas →

Creative Computing, Design, health, lifestyle, safe driving, smartphone technology, Technology

THE CES 2016 TECH GRIND PROMISES SURPRISES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS

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More than 3,500 booths to check out at CES
More than 3,500 booths to check out at CES

My annual tech mecha to the  Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show  begins from Edmonton. Follow me here as I update my experience discovering new gadgets and meeting interesting industry shakers and movers.

What does CES have in store for us this year? Lot’s of small startups from around the world on smart personal ware and ways to help us eat, drive, even shower better.

Here are some examples on Day One at CES Unveiled, an early pre-show peak of smart tech.

  1. P1030064-1

The self powered Eco-Sensitive Smart Shower head from hydrao.com connects to iOS and Android devices via Bluetooth. It tracks your water consumption and monitors your progress or not, by changing colours.

Continue reading THE CES 2016 TECH GRIND PROMISES SURPRISES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS →

Best Speakers, Boxing Day Tech, lifestyle, shopping laptops, smart watches, smartphone technology, Technology

Second thoughts on great technology for boxing day

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Boxing day has great deals on tech gizmos. But the adage of you get what you pay for is still true. You can still get a deal on a cheap product as you can on a quality one. It’s a mindset on wanting to own something that has extra value and features that work for you.

Here is my list of the best tech gizmos I experienced in 2015, which can be had for a better price on boxing day weekend. But there is fewer of these around compared to the bargain priced devices that attract most buyers. Good technology  will last into next year and pay itself off.

Why? Because it was well thought out, ahead of its time, designed and built to last. To me, it was conceived with a purpose:  to do something better than the competition and make you feel selfishly satisfied every time you use it. It’s like driving a luxury car.

Sonos Play:5 has the sound magic inside to bring life-like sounds in your room
Sonos Play:5 has the sound magic inside to bring life-like sounds in your room
A graphical view of why the Sonos Play:5 sounds so good. Using an Olympus Linear PCM Recorder LS-10 I recorded 70 seconds of Oriental Blue by Al Di Meola in audio CD quality on the Wave:5 from two meters away. I then converted the short audio track to a 3D Analysis view with Steinberg’s Wavelab Elements 8. The left column is the Play:5 audio recording, showing the bass frequency response, top and a view from the other side showing the higher notes or sounds. The verticals show the intensity or volume. The darker green range would be a typical singers range. The right column is typical of most speakers, showing less bass response (think of it as lower foothills – less bass - as you approach a mountain, the main song).
A graphical view of why the Sonos Play:5 sounds so good. Using an Olympus Linear PCM Recorder LS-10 I recorded 70 seconds of Oriental Blue by Al Di Meola in audio CD quality on the Play:5 from two meters away. I then converted the short audio track to a 3D Analysis view with Steinberg’s Wavelab Elements 8. The left column is the Play:5 audio recording, showing the bass frequency response, top and a view from the other side showing the higher notes or sounds. The verticals show the intensity or volume. The darker green range would be a typical singers range. The right column is typical of most speakers, including smaller Sonos speakers, showing less bass response (think of it as lower foothills – less bass – as you approach a mountain, the main song).

Continue reading Second thoughts on great technology for boxing day →

Making sense of technology