Archive for May, 2014

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Review: 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited – Part 2

Posted in Products with tags on May 27, 2014 by itnerd

CAM00028

Under the hood of the Jeep Cherokee Limited is a 3.2L Pentastar V6 that puts out 271 HP and 239 pound feet of torque. It’s mated to a 9 speed transmission. That’s not a misprint. This gearbox has 9 cogs in it. Now you’re likely asking why would Jeep put 9 cogs in a transmission? The extra gears are supposed to improve both acceleration and fuel economy. The engine and transmission drive all 4 wheels via Jeep’s Active Drive II 4×4 system. Active Drive II 4×4 comes with low-range gearing which is great for rock crawling and has a neutral mode for flat towing behind an RV. It offers Snow, Mud/Sand and Sport modes, the latter delivering more power to the rear axle for a sportier on-road feel. You also get hill decent control and an off road suspension as part of the package too.

So, how does this combination work? There is lots power and torque available, but there were times where I put my foot down on the highway to pass a truck and it took a second to accelerate. It didn’t happen all the time, But it did happen frequently enough that I decided to mention it. I’m guessing that it is due to the fact that the transmission has to drop a few cogs so that the Jeep can accelerate. Though I will note that putting the vehicle into sport mode helps with this. I would recommend that you plan your passing activities when you’re on the highway so that you’re not caught out by the second or two of hesitation should it appear. Beyond that, I really do not have any complaints about the engine or the transmission. In terms of the latter, it for the most part shifts smoothly and there’s no “shift shock” which is that slight lurch that your vehicle makes when your transmission shifts gears when accelerating. You can easily use the accelerator to crawl through stop and go traffic and on the open road you can deliver the right amount of power to get the speed you want. The brakes are easy to modulate and bring you to a stop smoothly. In terms of fuel economy, I’m averaging 11.8 L/100 KM on 89 octane gas in mostly city and some highway driving. That’s pretty good considering that this is a SUV that isn’t light. Plus my daily driver which has two less cylinders and 120 less HP gets about the same fuel economy in the same conditions. Other than tire noise things are quiet inside the cabin unless you put your foot down. The ride is smooth and steady, floating over big bumps but taking the edge off the sharper ones. It handles curves as better than most SUVs in this class with minimal body roll. Though if you push it too hard in a curve, you’ll be reminded that it’s an SUV due to the high center of gravity.

Now let’s head off road. To test its off road capabilities, I headed to a gravel road in Belfountain which is north west of Toronto that has very steep uphills, downhills and sharp turns. It’s usually frequented by the pickup trucks and SUVs that are owned by the farmers in the area. The rough winter that we had really made this road rougher than normal. In the past, it was a challenge to drive this road. But now I feel that vehicles designed for off road use are the only vehicles that can handle this road because it has become so rough. Also having previous experience driving off road (I took a off road driving course that was run by Land Rover) helps as well as you can make a mess of a vehicle if you don’t know what you’re doing off road. Having said all of this, the Cherokee was able to deal with this road exceptionally well. Ruts, uneven terrain, and loose gravel did nothing to upset the Cherokee. One thing that was really handy was hill decent control which made going down really steep hills way less stressful. If you need to drive off road as well as on road, this Jeep is for you.

The next part of the review will look at the interior which is a very interesting one. Stay tuned for that.

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B.C. Students Clinch Top Prizes For BlackBerry Smartphone App Development Award At CWSF 2014

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 26, 2014 by itnerd

Science and technology collided at the Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF) national championships over the last weekend, where students from across Canada competed in creating a mobile app for the BlackBerry Smartphone App Development Award which I’ve written about previously. Three technology whiz kids from B.C. triumphed to emerge as top winners in all three categories: Junior (grades 7 and 8), Intermediate (grades 9 and 10) and Senior (grades 11 and 12). Wowing the judges with their smartphone apps, the winners were rewarded with cash prizes, BlackBerry smartphones and mentorship with a BlackBerry mobile application developer expert.

The winners are:

Junior Category Winner: Kieren O’Neil

kieren

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creation: Deciphering Recycling

Region: Cariboo Mainline

City: Kamloops, British Columbia

School: McGowan Park Elementary

Description: People who use plastics do not all recycle it, meaning it can end up in a landfill or cause environmental harm. The goal of the app is to help solve this problem through education. Kieren designed and created an app that provides useful facts and basics on recycling, such as, what is resin code on plastic items and whether it can be recycled and what types of items can be recycled. Kieren hopes to save the environment, one app at a time!

 

Intermediate Category Winner: Whitney Anderson

whitney

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creation: S.A.F.E

Region: Central Interior British Columbia

City: Prince George, British Columbia

School: Westside Academy

Description: With the intention of keeping drivers safe on the road, Whitney created an app called Tasker that locks down dangerous and distracting interactions on a cell phone, while still providing necessary communications when a vehicle is in motion. When tested, the app was successful in locking down the screen, minimizing distracting interactions that can be dangerous while driving.

 

Senior Category Winner: Noah Bergmann

noah

 

 

 

 

 

Creation: The Musician’s Toolbox

Region: Cariboo Mainline

City: Merritt, British Columbia

School: South Central Interior Distance Education

Description: The Musician’s Toolbox is a useful tool for musicians of any skill level. Included in the app is the modex, a tool for making bridges between songs, a transposer, for changing chords from one key to another, and a tuner that can be used with any instrument.

The Modex
In the Modex you have the ability to make a musical bridge between any two keys. For instance, if you were playing a song in the key of A, and wanted to move to a song in the key of D without stopping, you would input this into the modex and receive chords to make the transition.

The Transposer
The Transposer allows you to convert chords from one key two another. This is useful for guitar players using a capo, or simply converting music between keys.

The Tuner
The tuner is a simple tool that allows you to tune your instrument to any note.

CWSF is the largest science-based competition in the country, and has captured the imaginations of thousands of students since 1962 (approximately 25,000 students compete each year).

Congratulations to all the winners!

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Review: Skinit iPhone 5/5S Folio Case

Posted in Products with tags on May 26, 2014 by itnerd

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m a major proponent for phone cases that protect the screen. That’s because I’ve seen bumper cases not do an adequate job of that and I really hate to see a smartphone rendered unusable because of screen damage. So when I got my hands on the Skinit iPhone 5/5S Folio Case, I knew that I had to write about it.

First let’s start with the construction of the case. It’s made of some sort of synthetic leather and is well stitched together. It closes with a magnetic fastener which ensures that the case will not flip open if it is dropped. That’s a very nice touch on Skinit’s part. Because it’s a flip style case, it protects your iPhone from the front and the back. What about the sides of the iPhone you ask? Here’s where things get clever. The iPhone is put in mount that is made of a rubber like material that isn’t dissimilar from what you find in a bumper case. Plus the iPhone is slightly recessed in the case. In short, this design gives you two levels of protection. Again, a nice touch on Skinit’s part. You get two slots for credit cards inside the case, plus a sleeve for cash or in my case, business cards. Even with all of that, the overall package doesn’t add too much bulk to the iPhone. Thus it will still be slim which is important when you put it in your pocket.

There’s one additional trick that this case has going for it:

CAM00081~2

It can be used as a stand to watch media such as videos on your iPhone. A really nice touch by Skinit to add that functionality. By the way, the picture that is being displayed on my iPhone 5S at is in the gift shop and museum of Hendrick Motorsports in North Carolina. They’re one of the most famous NASCAR teams with such stars as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmy Johnston, and Jeff Gordon driving for them. I was there last year when I was in Charlotte visiting a client and had some time to kill before my flight back to Toronto.

But I digress.

The Skinit iPhone 5/5S Folio Case comes in four colours and is $19.99 on Skinit.com. If you need a case to protect your iPhone 5 or 5S, this should be on the list of possibilities.

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BREAKING: Transport Canada Allows Use Of Electronics In Airplane Mode During Takeoffs And Landings [UPDATED]

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 26, 2014 by itnerd

I’m classifying this as breaking news as I am still gathering the facts, but it appears that Transport Canada is about to make a change that will allow passengers on flights on Canadian carriers to be able to use electronic devices in airplane mode during takeoffs and landings.

So far, this Tweet from CBC News is all the info that I have:

I am working on gathering more facts and will update this story as I have more details.

UPDATE: A statement from Transport Canada has been posted. Here’s the highlights:

Previously, passengers could not use their devices at their leisure during take off and landing. This change, which is made possible through an exemption to theCanadian Aviation Regulations, means that passengers will soon be able to work or play whenever they please on flights in Canada. It strikes the appropriate balance between safety and passenger comfort that Transport Canada and airlines always strive to achieve. The use of electronic devices on any flight will be at the discretion of the air operators, who must demonstrate that their aircraft are not affected by the use of the devices and that during critical phases of flight and during emergencies, all passengers are aware of and able to follow crew instructions.

Now you’re likely going to say “I was doing this already.” Perhaps you were, and you were likely breaking the law. Now you don’t have to hide the use of your iPhone to play Angry Birds while the plane is rolling to or from the gate. This to some degree mirrors a change that the Americans made last year.

So, what do you think of this change? Post a comment and share your thoughts.

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Review: 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited – Part 1

Posted in Products with tags on May 26, 2014 by itnerd

When you think of the compact class of SUV’s, most vehicles in that class look like SUV’s, but they really can’t go off road in any serious way. That’s fine if you have no aspirations to touch dirt. But if you do want to go off road, you want something that can handle any possible condition that you could come across. Enter the Jeep Cherokee. It’s a vehicle that will take the kids to soccer practice as well as take you deep into the woods and back. CAM00002Now let me deal with the elephant in the room. The looks. It doesn’t look like your father’s Jeep Cherokee: CAM00005 I’ll admit that looks are, shall we say unique. However, this is one of those vehicles that you have to see in person because my pictures will not do it any sort of justice. For all the buzz the look of the front end of the Cherokee seems to be generating online, it really is not that bad. In fact, I like it. CAM00004 Walk around to the back and the unique look continues. Take it from me. If you walk around the vehicle a few times slowly, you’ll find that the look is coherent. It really does work to make this SUV unique in good way. Now the Jeep Cherokee that I’m driving is the Limited trim level which comes with a V6, a real four wheel drive system, and a ton of technology. This is going to be one packed review. As usual, I’ll be posting a multi-part review that will cover the following sections:

  • Engine, transmission, handling, fuel economy, and driving comfort
  • Interior
  • Technology in the vehicle
  • Wrap up

As an aside, all the photos for this review will be taken with the LG G Flex Android based smartphone which was provided to me by Rogers and is exclusive to them. I will have a review on this phone on Friday. But in the meantime, let’s see what the Jeep Cherokee can do both on and off road.

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Review: TomTom Runner Cardio GPS

Posted in Products with tags on May 24, 2014 by itnerd

Wearable technology is all the rage right now. So, when TomTom sent me the Runner Cardio GPS watch that is aimed at runners, I had a problem. On paper it has a lot going for it, but I am not a runner. How am I going to test this?

Enter my wife. She’s a very serious runner having completed numerous 5k, 10k, half-marathons, and her first marathon last year. She can not only tell me how well this GPS watch works from a technical standpoint, but she could add value to the review because she’s well within the target audience for this GPS watch. So, I’m going to step out of the way and let her take over this review:

My first heart rate monitor was a Polar monitor that came with a chest strap, a clunky footpad to measure distance with a AAA battery inside that I would mount on top of my running shoe to get mapping data for my runs. I subsequently bought the very first Nike+ system complete with sensor that went into the heel of my Nike shoe and used my iPod to track my running data. However I had no heart rate monitoring with the Nike+ system.

Fast forward to 2014 where you are still in the world of chest straps if you are looking towards capturing information on your heart rate. That’s why I love the Tom Tom Runner Cardio watch as it dispenses with that chest strap. Looking at the watch I originally thought there were electrodes (similar to what is on a chest strap) on the bottom of the watch however I now know they are green LEDs that monitors the heart rate while being worn your wrist. It is accurate and responsive. I cannot tell you how nice it is not having to wearing a tight fitting chest strap which tends to slip easily during a run. From an aesthetics perspective it is a good looking watch. I have had my running friends ogle at the well designed large display too. One of the questions at the top of my mind before testing this watch out was the question of GPS accuracy compared with other comparable products on market. I can say that it is accurate as I had run one of my usual routes using my Nike+ and I have Google mapped the route as well and there is no difference between any of them in terms of recorded distance.

Even though I am married to the IT Nerd, I am an IT newbie at times and would have appreciated a fuller description that came with the printed manual in the box. The manual achieves what it is designed to do which is to get you started. It tells you three main points:

  1. Charge the watch
  2. How to navigate through the functions of the watch (it is fairly straightforward to do so by the way)
  3. Wear the watch properly (This is important because it will not work properly if you don’t)

Navigation is done through a haptic feedback button on the bottom of the watch where you move left (for the status screen), move down for settings (clock, sensors, phone, mode, options, profile, standards), move right for activities (run, treadmill and stopwatch). This is a polite watch where it tells you to “Please wait” as it requires you to be sufficiently warmed up and for it to acquire a GPS lock. This took a while for me to achieve. I had to jog almost a city block and get my heart rate up to 120 bpm before the watch gave me the “GO” message. I am not sure if the bottleneck was the GPS lock or having to be warmed up as I know many Garmin running watches take a long time to acquire the GPS lock.

For those of you with “A type” personality or a competitive spirit the Tom Tom Cardio watch has a feature where you can compare your performance on same route. This is can serve to take the guesswork out of asking “how did this run compare to the last time I ran this route?” There are endless ways that you program this watch. You have the ability to set your training goals (distance/time/calories), intervals, laps (time/distance/manual), (heart rate) zones (sprint/ speed/ endure/ fat burn/ easy/ custom), or pace.

The second most important question that my running friends have asked is “can I upload this info to my computer?” The answer is yes. The Tom Tom Runner Cardio MySports can link to the following:

  • MapMyFitness
  • MapMyRun or MapMyRide
  • Runkeeper
  • Strava
  • Training Peaks

I choose MapMyFitness as I already had the MyFitnessPal app to log nutritional information. But it is not restricted to one application. There are many other websites and file formats that it is compatible with such as KML for Google Earth, CSV for import into spreadsheets, GPX format – geographic data, FIT format for training applications, TCS format for training applications. I should also note that you have to download software for your Mac or PC and connect it to your computer using the included USB to make all of this happen.

One feature in particular that I would like to expand upon is the treadmill mode. Yes this means you can track your indoor / winter training. It will track your progress while you workout on treadmill but (unlike the treadmills in your gym) it will give you an accurate heart rate. There isn’t another watch of this type that can make that claim. The battery life is rated at 8 hours and it is waterproof as well. 

In my opinion this watch rocks! There’s no other running watch that not only gives you accurate heart rate monitoring without a chest strap. Plus with the treadmill mode it will allow you to pull all your training (indoor and outdoor) data together easily via the service of your choice. And to top it off it’s priced the same as less capable watches from Garmin for example. I’d recommend it.  

The TomTom Runner Cardio goes for $269.99 USD. If you’re a serious runner, or someone who wants to get accurate performance stats, this is the running watch to get. It’s available from TomTom.com or your local retailer.

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Rogers Announces “Rogers 3.0” And Shakes Up Their Leadership

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 23, 2014 by itnerd

Clearly Rogers CEO Guy Laurence, a guy who has a reputation for shaking things up is putting his stamp on Rogers in a big way. A press release titled “Rogers 3.0: Accelerating growth and overhauling the customer experience” has just appeared and it has a whole lot of info in it that shows that Rogers is radically going to change. Let’s start with what the go forward plan is:

Rogers 3.0 is a long-term plan that reflects feedback from thousands of customers, employees and shareholders. It builds on the underlying strength of the company to identify and capitalize on opportunities for growth and innovation. It will be based on seven strategic priorities:

1. Be a strong Canadian growth company

2. Overhaul the Customer Experience

3. Drive meaningful growth in the business market

4. Invest in and develop our people

5. Deliver compelling content anywhere

6. Focus on innovation and network leadership

7. Go to market as One Rogers

I’ll draw your attention to item number 2. Rogers has the reputation for less than stellar customer service and it is interesting that they are looking to do something about it. How you might ask? Let’s take a look at the new management structure:

— Consumer Business Unit: Rob Bruce, President

— Enterprise Business Unit: Larry Baldachin*, President

— Media Business Unit: Keith Pelley, President

— Customer Experience: Mike Adams*, Chief Customer Officer

— Brand Management: Dale Hooper, Chief Brand Officer

— Strategy, Wholesale & Development: Frank Boulben*, Chief Strategy Officer

— Corporate Affairs: Phil Lind, EVP Regulatory and Vice Chairman

— Legal: David Miller, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary

— Human Resources: Jim Reid, Chief Human Resources Officer

— Finance: Tony Staffieri, Chief Financial Officer

— Information Technology: Linda Jojo, Chief Information Officer

— Network: Bob Berner, Chief Technology Officer
*Interim leader

You’ll note that there’s now Chief Customer Officer. An executive level position responsible for the customer experience. It’s a great strategy as having one person focus on the customer experience can only help the customer. At least one would think so.  Another thing that you’ll notice is that a number of people have the word “interim” next to them. Here’s why:

Due to the communications portfolio being divided into three areas, Rob Bruce has decided to leave Rogers and agreed to help Guy Laurence through a transition period until the end of year. In April Phil Lind announced his plan to retire as EVP, Regulatory at the end of 2014. Phil will stay on for at least three more years in an advisory capacity and will remain on the Rogers Board of Directors and the Rogers Control Trust. An internal and external search has begun for all interim appointments.

This is a major change for Rogers. That is not in dispute. The question is, will customers notice the difference? I say, check back this time next year and we’ll see.

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The IT Nerd Is Back On The @Gregcarrasco Show This Saturday [UPDATED]

Posted in Commentary on May 23, 2014 by itnerd

I am back on The Greg Carrasco Show this Saturday on AM640 radio in Toronto at 10AM EST. You’ll want to tune in as I will be talking about my recent experience with the 2015 Hyundai Genesis. Plus, I will touch on one other vehicle that I’m going to be reviewing next week. If you live in Toronto, tune in on your radio. If you’re outside of Toronto, you can listen online. And please let me know what you think by posting a comment. If you miss the show, I’ll be posting a link to the recording as well.

UPDATE: I’m now scheduled to be on at 9AM. Tune in!

UPDATE #2: Here’s the audio from today’s appearance in case you missed it.

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Apple Patches Critical Flaws In Safari For Mac…. But Misses Safari For iOS

Posted in Commentary with tags , on May 22, 2014 by itnerd

Frequent readers of this blog will recall that I’ve written about Apple and their habit of patching one of their operating systems, but not the other until much much later.

Well, they’ve done it again.

This week Apple patched the Safari browser for Mac fixing critical flaws that could allow remote code execution. However, if you’re wondering about Safari on iOS, keep wondering because it hasn’t been patched yet. The danger is that if they don’t fix things on both operating systems at the same time, they have provided a roadmap for hackers to exploit the unlatched operating system. The reason being that both operating systems have similar codebases. That means all a hacker has to do is reverse engineer what was fixed on one operating system to exploit the other. You’d think that Apple would really get better on this front. Clearly they haven’t. Thus iOS users are at risk and they don’t need to be.

So, Apple, when will you get your act together on this front? Do your users not deserve better?

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Digia Updates Qt Enterprise Embedded

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 22, 2014 by itnerd

Digia has released an update to Qt Enterprise Embedded to address the Internet of Things connected device trend. Today’s release includes the latest Qt 5.3 libraries, Qt WebEngine, Qt Quick Compiler, integration to the Qt Cloud and several other improvements. It contains all the tools needed for fast, easy, fully-integrated embedded device application development and deployment which further increasing developer efficiency, application and device performance, and shortening the development time of embedded software. With Qt Enterprise Embedded it is as easy to develop embedded software as it is to build applications for desktop or mobile.

The pre-configured embedded development environment, pre-built Qt optimized software stack enables immediate deployment to verified reference boards allowing users to get up and running and have a working embedded project prototype from day one. This Qt Enterprise Embedded update introduces a first look at Qt WebEngine, a powerful cross-platform web offering that combines Qt Quick for native apps for maximum performance, HTML5 for dynamic web content and reusability across web and native – with WebGL support for whenever extra 3D elegance needs to be added to the UI. Qt WebEngine is particularly important for embedded devices that need to offer on-demand web access and where the ability to develop hybrid UIs and functionality is key to keep up with changing market requirements.

Qt Enterprise Embedded also includes the recently announced Qt Quick Compiler. Qt Quick Compiler is a new professional build tool, which allows for the compilation of QML files into an application. The compiler ensures IP protection of the the QML source and improves load time and performance by pre-parsing the QML files. With compiled Qt Quick, application start up is up to 90% faster than before, a key requirement in various embedded verticals.

Incremental deployment to devices is also being introduced to reduce the time it takes to deploy software to devices. Previous versions of Qt Enterprise Embedded offered USB-connection to the device as the primary way to deploy, run and debug on devices. The latest version adds the possibility of connecting to devices over a local area network using standard IP protocols – simplifying the sharing of devices amongst team members and setting up devices for automated testing.

The update to Qt Enterprise Embedded also provides full integration with Qt Cloud Services and the Enginio Data Storage to enable users to create a whole cloud backend for embedded, mobile and desktop Qt clients through a convenient Qt API. Together with the newly added Bluetooth support (using BlueZ) and the existing Wi-Fi and wired network support, the platform provides everything needed for implementing, monitoring and updating internet-of-things devices from within a single technology.

Qt Enterprise Embedded also provides the full set of Qt Enterprise value-add functionality, including a comprehensive virtual keyboard solution with multi-language and word-prediction possibilities, support for Qt Quick Enterprise Controls for industrial applications and libraries for 2D and 3D charting and data visualization.

The Qt Enterprise Embedded development environment runs on Ubuntu Linux 64-bit 12.04 LTS or later. Target hardware supported as standard at time of launch includes: Google Nexus 7 tablet 2012 & 2013 version; Boundary Devices SabreLite (Freescale i.MX 6); SABRE Board/Platform for smart devices (Freescale i.MX 6Quad); Raspberry Pi Model B (ARM11); and BeagleBone Black (TI AM335x). Digia is also able to port the software stack to custom hardware. The Qt Enterprise Embedded Emulator is included within the development environment. Qt Enterprise Embedded comes with Yocto –based tooling that easily extends the provided configurations to match the final hardware design as well as supports other hardware environments.

Full details on supported hardware, more information about Qt Enterprise Embedded and a 30-day free trial offer can be found at http://qt.digia.com/qtenterpriseembedded

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