The IT Nerd

The interior of the Mazda3 Sport GS is simple, but very functional and driver focused. Let me show you what I mean.

The front seats are manually adjustable in six ways. they are comfortable, well bolstered, and the cloth that Mazda used is on the grippy side so that if you want to toss the car around on a back road with no police, you will stay in place. The front seats are heated.

The controls for the mirrors, door locks and windows are on the drivers side door handle. note the faux carbon fibre trim.

To the right of that is the button to disable the traction control.

Below that are the controls to open the gas cap flap and to pop the hood. You’ll also note that there’s a dead pedal that comes in handy for long drives.

The steering wheel is leather wrapped and has redundant controls for the infotainment system along with the cruise control.

The gauge cluster is very cool looking in the dark. The right hand side can be customized to show the info that you want to see.

The touchscreen sits on top of the dash. It doesn’t swivel nor does it move up or down like it would in some cars. Below that are HVAC controls and a cubby that not only contains the CD player, but gives you a place to put an item such as your phone. Note the leather wrapped shifter and parking brake. Both with red stitching.

Here you see the  HMI (Human-Machine Interface) Commander Switch. It doesn’t take long to get used to it and it is handy for controlling the radio, navigation system or even the phone. Behind it are two cupholders that are at different heights. The rear one is for smaller coffees while the front one fits my Venti sized Starbucks coffee just fine.

You get a deep centre console storage area with a sliding tray to hold change and in my case my proximity card to get in and out of my parking garage. Plus you can see the two USB connections, SD card slot, 1/8″ inch jack and 12V outlet.

You get a decent sized glove box.

Plus a place to put your sunglasses.

The back seats have decent amounts of headroom and legroom and the seats were comfortable. Though there is a hump in the middle seat that may make the person sitting in the middle seat uncomfortable. I would say that the middle seat is for emergency use only or for use with kids or those with short legs.

If you don’t need to seat a third person, you can use this handy flip down section which has a pair of cupholders.

The rear cargo area has a good amount of space and I like the fact that there’s a rubber mat covering the floor. If you need more space, the seats fold down (60/40 split) to accommodate large objects. One thing to point out is that the seats fold almost perfectly flat. Another thing to note is the lift over height is very low which you will find to be handy. The privacy cover is also handy.

And to provide some perspective in regards to the available space, here’s the usual shot of our groceries in the back of the Mazda3 Sport GS.

There’s a handle on the hatch that allows you to close the hatch without getting your hands dirty.

All the surfaces that you touch are soft. Plus the fit and finish is good. Everything that the driver could possibly need falls easily to hand. In short, everything interior wise is well thought through. I really have no complaints about the interior at all.

In part four of this review, I will cover the technology in the car. Watch out for it tomorrow.

Belkin had some news yesterday for those who are fans of the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 4. They have a new keyboard and a collection of covers for the new Galaxy Tab 4.

Here’s the lineup for new Samsung Galaxy Tab 4:

Qode Slim Style Keyboard Case for the Galaxy Tab 4 10.1″(F5L169) — $99.99

• Folio-style cover and Bluetooth® keyboard in one
• Well-spaced TruType™ keys offer responsive, accurate typing
• Innovative stand for multiple viewing angles
• Handheld media mode – keyboard tucks away flat for touch-screen use
• Slim, lightweight, stylish design
• Available in Black

Slim Style Cover for the Galaxy Tab 4 10.1″ (F7P258) — $49.99

• Innovative stand for multiple viewing angles and separate typing angle
• Embedded magnetic tab closure for a secure close
• Magnetic tab folds back and stays secure when folio is open
• Cutout for charger port allows easy access to charging
• Color-matched, debossed K-frame construction for premium look and feel
• Available in two color-block combinations: Black/Charcoal and Ink/Cyan

MultiTasker Cover for Galaxy Tab 4 10.1″ (F7P257) — $59.99

• Natural grain leather
• Stylus and business card storage
• Multiple angles for viewing and typing
• Magnetic closure
• Available in Blacktop and Plum

Shield Fit Cover for Galaxy Tab 4 8″ (F7P278) — $39.99

• Slim and sleek design
• Full-frame back hugs device and keeps secure
• Magnetic closure
• Two viewing angles plus comfortable typing angle
• Available in Blacktop

TriFold Cover for Galaxy Tab 4 7″(F7P256) — $39.99

• Sleek and slim design with a soft-touch finish
• Two viewing angles plus comfortable typing angle
• Elastic strap closure
• Available in Blacktop and Purple

Belkin accessories for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 will be available online at Belkin.com and at select retailers worldwide starting in late April.

I’ve written about Digia products previously, and here’s a piece of info to show how popular they are with mobile developers. The company announced since the launch of version 5.2 of the Qt cross-platform application and user interface (UI) development framework in December 2013, the number of downloads has exceeded 500,000.  The rate of uptake exceeds all previous Qt introductions and underlines the framework’s arrival as a significant player for mobile app development as well as for desktop and embedded platforms.

Interest in Qt 5.2 has been spread globally with the highest download rates occurring in US, China and Europe. Qt 5.2’s support for an extensive range of desktop, mobile and embedded operating system platforms, together with its enhanced core performance and functionality, make it the only cross-platform development framework to enable intuitive and highly performing platform-independent software applications no matter the target device or screen size.

Also of note, a series of roadshows for developers of mobile apps, will be starting in San Francisco, CA, on February 19 and then moving to UK and Germany in March. For details of the Qt Mobile Roadshows and to register, visit the Digia websitehttp://qt.digia.com or http://qt.digia.com/Qt-Mobile-Roadshow.

Canadians love their Tim Horton’s coffee and doughnuts. And if they are BlackBerry 10 users, they have a new way to pay. By leveraging the near field communication (NFC) technology that’s built into every BlackBerry 10 smartphone, Tim Horton’s can simply register a Tim Card on the TimmyMe mobile app and use their BlackBerry 10 smartphone to tap-to-pay to complete their order. This new mobile payment option is unique to BlackBerry 10 customers at this time and is the first such deployment of its kind, anywhere in the world.

In celebration of this, BlackBerry and Tim Hortons hosted a BlackBerry 10 customer appreciation event today held at a Tim Hortons location in downtown Toronto, where Joffrey Lupul, alternate captain of the Toronto Maples Leafs, demoed the TimmyMe app to the public by buying them a coffee.

Here’s a few pictures from the event:

The Chase is a game show on GSN where a team of three contestants attempts to amass as much money as possible by answering quick-fire questions in a 60-second round. The money earned will go towards a team bank. Why the urgency?  Because The Beast is always lurking, ready to pounce. The Beast – quite simply — is a quiz genius. The job of this intimidating presence is to catch each contestant by answering more questions than his opponents to ensure they are not able to bank their money. It’s a role he executes with ruthless efficiency.  In the final round, the teammates who have survived the initial chase collectively play against The Beast in an epic David vs. Goliath battle for the entire amount that they have banked.

Now you can participate in The Chase on your iOS device.

Have you got what it takes to beat The Beast? Download the app today and find out.

According to many media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, the FAA is looking at letting airline passengers use cell phones during flights:

While cellphone use would still be restricted during takeoff and landing, the proposal would lift an FCC ban on airborne calls and cellular-data use by passengers once a flight reaches 10,000 feet.

That would remove a regulatory hurdle to in-flight calls, but it would be up to the airlines themselves whether to allow them. Airlines have said they would approach the matter cautiously because of strong objections from their customers. The carriers also would have to install equipment on their planes to communicate with cellphone towers on the ground.

So, while I was in favor of the FAA allowing the use of iPads and the like in flight, I am not a fan of this. I really don’t want to hear the cell phone conversations of other people on my next flight. I am sure others feel the same way. One can hope that airlines mirror what GO Transit in the Greater Toronto area has done with their Quiet Zones to make sure people like me are happy during a flight.

I’ve been wondering all day why nobody other than the Fairfax put in a bid for BlackBerry. Well, The Globe And Mail is reporting that someone did:

Beijing-based computer manufacturer Lenovo Group Ltd. actively considered a bid for BlackBerry Ltd., but the Canadian government told the smartphone company it would not accept a Chinese takeover because of national security concerns, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Ottawa made it clear in high-level discussions with BlackBerry that it would not approve a Chinese company buying a company deeply tied into Canada’s telecom infrastructure, sources said. The government made its position known over the last one to two months. Because Ottawa made it clear such a transaction would not fly, it never formally received a proposal from BlackBerry that envisioned Lenovo acquiring a stake, sources said.

I’m not surprised given who the clients of BlackBerry are. There was no chance that Lenovo would get anywhere them. But it is sad as that likely would have been BlackBerry’s best chance at survival. Too bad.

If you’re someone who has downloaded music, movies or apps illegally using a torrent service, you’ll likely be familiar with isoHunt. As of today, they’ve been shut down and the guy who runs the site is on the hook for a huge dollar amount according to the CBC:

A Vancouver resident has agreed to shut down his popular downloading website and pay a $110-million fine after settling a long legal fight with the Motion Picture Association of America.

Gary Fung ran isohunt.com, a search engine for BitTorrent files, which helped users find virtually every type of copyrighted material, including music, movies, computer software, ebooks and pornography.

According to Alexa.com, it ranked as the 423rd top site on the web for global traffic and 167th in Canada.

On his blog, Fung said he was “sad to see my baby go.”

The MPAA spearheaded attempts to shut isoHunt down. Attempts that ultimately succeeded. The thing is, it’s a safe bet that some other site will pop up to take its place. Good luck to the MPAA in terms of fighting that as it will be a game of whack a mole one would think.