Archive for September 12, 2015

iPhone 6s/6s Plus Pre-Orders Begin

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 12, 2015 by itnerd

If you want the new iPhone 6s or 6s plus, pre-orders began at midnight today. Here’s the options from be big three Canadian carriers:

  • Telus reached out to me to let me know that you  can pre-order the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus online at www.telus.com/iphone with in-store availability beginning September 25.
  • Rogers is doing pre-orders via their reservation system. You can click here to visit the Rogers Reservation System to ‘get yours. A refundable $40 reservation fee will be applied when you place your reservation.
  • Finally, Bell is showing all models, colours and configurations on their online ordering system.

Another option is to go directly to Apple and order online there. The phones will be unlocked and you’ll be paying the full cost rather than a subsidized cost. But if you travel frequently or don’t want to be tied to a particular carrier, this is your best option.

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Boxing Legend Lennox Lewis Takes Ownership Of The First Christie Boxer 4K30 Projector

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 12, 2015 by itnerd

Lennox Lewis, professional boxing’s last undisputed world heavyweight champion, has taken ownership of a Christie Boxer 4K30 projector.

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“Mike Garrido, Senior Product Manager, Christie (Left) passes the remote for a new Christie Boxer 4K30 on to  Lennox Lewis, Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion”

The Christie Boxer 4K30 made its worldwide debut in January 2015 at the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) show in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Lewis attended the pre-launch festivities in November 2014 at Christie’s worldwide center of engineering excellence. A global hit, Boxer 4K30 delivers, pound for pound, the ultimate combination of power, brightness, performance and durability.

Combining the most lumens, the most pixels, and 3DLP quality, the award winning Christie Boxer is the smallest, lightest, yet most rugged design available in its class. The first offering from the new Boxer Series, the Boxer 4K30 was quickly embraced for rental staging and fixed installation applications including concerts, amusement parks, projection mapping projects, museums, planetariums and more.

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Quickdraw 2.0: The Ultimate Charging Smartphone Cable

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 12, 2015 by itnerd

Introducing Quickdraw 2.0. It’s the sturdiest and strongest USB cable out there and it has some amazing added features:

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  • MagSafe Style LED charging indicator makes it easy to know when your phone or tablet is charged without having to click on your screen.
  • Reversible USB makes it easy and efficient to connect your charger without having to play around to get it in the right way and in the process damaging your ports or USB charger.
  • Magnetic cable tidy add-on lets you keep your cables tidy so you never have to go fishing for that lost cable that fell behind your desk or slipped in-between your car seats.
  • Sand blasted anodized aluminium shields the circuitry of the connectors at each end so they can last a lifetime of hard use. And yes, Quickdraw 2.0 is also waterproofed so you are protected all around.
  • Its woven cable keeps it from tangling and getting damaged.
  • Quickdraw 2.0 is available in Micro USB, USB Type-C and MFi Lightning connectors.

Why settle for weak cables that get damaged easily when you can have an ultra strong and efficient cable like Quickdraw 2.0 for a great price?
Quickdraw 2.0 is now on Kickstarter. Early supporters of the campaign will get a chance to be among the first to get their hands on Quickdraw 2.0 and also take advantage of its great introductory price. You can check out the video and get more detailed information here.

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The Fabric of Humanity Closes In On Kickstarter Goal

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 12, 2015 by itnerd

Normally, I don’t post non-tech stories. But I will make an exception with this story.

When was the last time you got to participate in the beginning of a revolution? The beginning of a major change to the way we think and live? The Fabric of Humanity who are based in Toronto goes beyond the idea of fair trade for the apparel industry and instead they have created Wearable Philanthropy.

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Specific contribution amounts are listed on the price tag of each item from The Fabric of Humanity, so customers will know exactly how much of their purchase goes to helping various community projects. Customers will then vote on projects to watch their purchases translate to changed lives. Funding doesn’t stop after the first project on the list. Contributions are added to a fund for a number of months, and The Fabric of Humanity will fund every project that they can afford with the money raised. This approach is a grassroots way to making a difference, as the projects come directly from the community. The Fabric of Humanity is helping to write a new story for the people who are often the most affected by poverty—those working in the apparel industry.

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How can you help? The Fabric of Humanity has launched their Kickstarter campaign, and are closing in on the necessary funds to make this dream a reality. We need your help to spread the word about this great opportunity for customers to go beyond mere consumers but become everyday philanthropists to a cause greater than themselves.

See what joining this Kickstarter campaign can do in this video:

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Booy: The most versatile tablet stand

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 12, 2015 by itnerd

Using tablets by holding them for extended periods of time can cause severe pain to hands, neck and arms. Tablet stands are the best solution for this problem, yet with hundreds of cases and holders to choose from, none of them are designed for the place that’s used the most: your lap. Booy (booē), A new patented tablet stand that balances and supports tablet devices on any surface—most importantly your lap. With its patented conformable backing and unique shape, the BOOY Lounge balances, stabilizes, and protects a variety of tablets. Adjusts virtually to any angle. Booy is currently available on Kickstarter. Early birds can pre-order one for $60.

dbde5ef780509aff69e855c289531857_originalKey features Include:

• Elegant design: Made from premium-grade stretch leather and a loose filling of all-natural hypoallergenic millet hulls, your Booy may even outlast your tablet computer.

• Quick release magnetic attachment: As cozy as it feels, you can still “go slim” quickly. The BOOY lounge magnetically attaches to a leather plate that adheres to the back of the tablet with reusable adhesive that leaves NO RESIDUE. Just pull the edge and the lounge pops off with ease. It reattaches virtually by itself.

• Works with smart covers.

• Works with most protective cases.

• Compatibility: Works with iPad 1, 2, 3, Air, Galaxy 10.5 tablets and more.

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eBay Introduces eBay 4.0

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 12, 2015 by itnerd

eBay, one of the world’s most vibrant marketplaces has released eBay 4.0 – a new, immersive experience for eBay core apps for iPhone and Android, as well as updates to the iPad. eBay 4.0 is designed to simplify the way eBay customers browse, buy and sell, and is another step in our journey to create a customized, personalized experience across all screens.

 

Features include:

  • New start experience tailored to fill users’ inspiration and utility needs, and bring selling to the forefront.
  • New “Activity” channel, which provides shoppers with information on Recently Viewed and Watched Items, as well as Selling activity.
  • Redesigned “Shop” channel, which allows shoppers to browse each vertical (Fashion, Electronics, Home & Garden, Collectibles & Art, Motors and Deals) and access Daily Deals.
  • Simplified “Sell” channel with seamless listing capabilities, Selling Tips and integration of eBay Valet.
  • Updated navigation throughout the apps – the header bar with a global Search box and the lefthand navigation drawer that gives direct access to My eBay content.
  • Motors P&A Fitment compatibility in Search and View Item.

To learn more about eBay 4.0, please go to: https://www.ebayinc.com/stories/news/introducing-ebay-4-0/

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Microsoft’s Stupidity Gets Worse As It Brings Windows 10’s Worst Features To Windows 7/8

Posted in Commentary with tags , on September 12, 2015 by itnerd

If you thought that Microsoft forcing Windows 10 onto the hard drives of Windows 7 and 8 users was bad. Here’s something that’s worse. Software specialist website gHacks has discovered that Microsoft is shoving the sort of user tracking features that are found in Windows 10 on to Windows 7 and 8 computers. They’re doing this in the form of three updates. KB3075249, KB3080149 and KB3068708 (which replaces KB3022345) are all meant to add “customer experience and diagnostic telemetry” to Windows 7 and Windows 8. Translation: Microsoft is watching what you do and your computer is reporting back to Redmond Washington with that info. And here’s what’s worse:

“These four updates ignore existing user preferences stored in Windows 7 and Windows 8 (including any edits made to the Hosts file) and immediately starts exchanging user data with vortex-win.data.microsoft.com and settings-win.data.microsoft.com.”

Lovely. Now KB3068708 is classified as ‘Recommended’ which means Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs with Windows Update set to automatic will install it by default. That said for the update to appear at all, you will need to be a participant in Microsoft’s Customer Experience Improvement Program, an opt-in program which already has you agreeing to send user data to the company.

Now if this creeps you out, and it should, here’s how you can get your privacy back:

  1. Go to Control Panel
  2. Go to Programs
  3. Go to Uninstall or change a program and locate each update by name
  4. Double click on each update to uninstall it or right click on the update and choose uninstall

To hide the updates so they won’t install in future:

  1. Go to Control Panel
  2. Go to System and Security
  3. Go to Windows Update

Microsoft really needs to get their act together. Users don’t want this sort of tracking and they would be best advised to do an about face on this front as this is the sort of stupidity that annoys them and sends them running to Apple to buy Macs.

Shame, shame Microsoft.

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