Archives for July 2014

LD WEST: Gun style holster for your smartphone

aboutus-ldwest

When I first heard about the LD WEST Holster, I was intrigued – anything that can be used to save valuable pocket space must be a good thing. When I first saw it, held it in my hands, I didn’t know exactly what to make of it. You can easily surmise by the name that it’s a holster; combine that with the name and you’re thinking Cowboys and the Wild West. As it turns out neither is the case although, if you look at its curved cutouts, you may wonder.

LDWEST is actually a sleek fashionable holster system that wraps around the backside of your neck and snaps together allowing you to sling your smartphone under your right arm and your wallet under the left. It’s more like a half a pair of suspenders worn by the likes of Tommy Lee Jones or Clint Eastwood rather than John Wayne or Matt Dillon.

Read more…at CANOE TechBlog

MacBook Pro gets processor boost and memory doubled

MacBookPro

Ahead of the Fall release of the latest Mac OS reincarnation, Mac OS X Yosemite, Apple has refreshed the MacBook Pro with Retina display models by upping the processing speed and doubling up on the memory on both of the entry-level 13-inch and 15-inch models.

“People love their MacBook Pro because of the thin and light, aluminum unibody design, beautiful Retina display, all day battery life and deep integration with OS X,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The MacBook Pro with Retina display gets even better with faster processors, more memory and a free upgrade to OS X Yosemite this fall.”

13-inch Model

The 13-inch model with Retina display will now start with 8GB of RAM upgradeable to 16GB along with a 2.6 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz, 128GB PCIe-based flash storage and Iris Intel Graphics for $1399 and with 256GB PCIe-based Flash storage $1599.

Read more…AT CANOE TECH BLOG

Review: FritzFrame for iPhone 5 and 5s

1 FritzSay it quickly and it sounds like you’re saying “freeze frame”, but it’s actually Fritz Frame. It’s a cleverly designed video stabilizer, stand and case that allows you to position your iPhone 5 or 5S virtually any which way, even hang it, so you can do Facetime, watch videos and even take those must-have selfies, totally hands-free.

Frank Mansfeld, Fritz Frame CEO and director, and hisdesigners have exploited almost every viewing angle. Fritz Frame is hinged at the bottom, pivots at the centre and can rotate a full 360 degrees in any direction. Movement is smooth and precise on both the hinge and pivot, each with a six-step stop position.

Fritz Frame is amazingly sturdy, yet light, CNC machined from aircraft grade aluminum. It has a fine finish and even where there are square corners you’ll find them smoothly finished. The attention to detail down to the locking pins and countersink screws, of course, is something you’d expect from German Engineering.  READ MORE at G4 TV CANADA

 

Living Plug Inlet redefines electrical outlet

 

E0 Inlet Before and AfterDMONTON, AB, Jul 25, 2014/ Troy Media/ – With all of the innovations in telephone communications, home entertainment and computers over the last 500 years, there’s one thing that hasn’t changed – the electrical outlet.Until now that is. Thanks to San Francisco-based Living Plug and its Inlet, the outlet will never be the same.

 Now, we’re not talking about modifying or rewiring an existing outlet. That would require a major overhaul and a change to electric standards around the world.

Instead, the Inlet gives the outlet a simple but very useful makeover. It comes in the form of a 5” x 5” x 1 1/2′” square housing that fits over the outlet plate and plugs into an existing socket. It moves the two room-facing sockets to a safer location – the bottom of the Inlet, making it safer for children. (There’s also an additional safety screw that you could use to secure Inlet to the actual outlet so the kids can’t pull it out of the wall.) They’ve also added a third tamper-proof outlet, rotated 90 degrees, making it a triplex outlet.

READ FULL ARTICLE at Troy Media

 

eBay to auction pristine 1938 #1 Superman comic

eBayAction1

If you’re a comic junkie with very deep pockets, you might want to get ready to bid on this ultimate find – Action Comics #1, from June 1938 and the first time Superman is featured in a comic book. The item goes up for auction exclusively on eBay starting August 14th for 10 days.

It’s estimated there only 50-100 (fewer according to some) unrestored copies of this issue still in existence and this one is being touted as being the finest known copy available.

According to a recent announcement, the comic received a rating of 9.0, the highest ever received, from the Certified Guaranty Company (CGC), a leading 3rd party grading service.

Read more…at CanoeTech Blog

Smashing line-up for September iTunes Festival 2014

iTunes Festival 2014 signFor many, September means back-to-school, but for others, it’s iTunes Festival time and it’s back again for an 8th year, with 30 incredible nights of live performances from London’s historic Roundup stage. If you can’t be there, you can still experience the event by streaming it over iTunes or Apple TV. And best of all, it’s still free.

Apple announced today some of the biggest artists that will be headlining this year, including; Maroon 5, Pharrell Williams, Beck, Sam Smith, Blondie, Kylie, David Guetta, 5 Seconds of Summer, Calvin Harris, Chrissie Hynde & many others.

“The iTunes Festival in London is back with another stunning line-up of world class performers and tremendous new acts,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “These live shows capture the heart and soul of iTunes and we love bringing them to our customers in the Roundhouse, as well as to the millions of people watching all over the world for free.”

Read more… At CANOE TECH BLOG

Square mobile payment system gets invoicing

Square invoices

Strolling through Old Strathcona last Saturday during Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue Art Walk 2014 I noticed something different this year.  More vendors were accepting payment by credit card – VISA, MasterCard, American Express – many through the magic of this micro-payment system called Square. It’s changed the way small businesses do their transactions. And now here in Canada, they’ve taken it one step farther with the introduction of invoices allowing complete secure payment transactions when not dealing face-to-face.

Invoicing is certainly a logical extension to the Square payment system with many potential benefits. In fact, people like Kat Doell, an emerging artist and illustrator finds Square payments handy, particularly for high ticket items welcome its extended functionality.

“I haven’t used the invoices yet, but all the new options look perfect for small business,” says Doell.

Read more…At CANOE TECH BLOG

USB powered air purifier and fan cleans and cools

Satechi Purifier

I do keep my office reasonably clean, but truthfully my office is usually covered wall to wall with gadgets, cables, books, magazines, manuals, boxes and more. I’ve never really thought about all the dust bunnies and other allergens that might be lurking in the dark crevices behind and beneath all my gadgetry. Enter the 2-in-1 Satechi USB Portable Air Purifier & Fan. It can eradicate the bunnies, remove those nasty allergens and provide for a little breeze or air circulation.

It looks like a small desktop speaker, measuring 11 x 11 x 9 cm, small enough to be portable and weighs a mere 350g so you can use it in the home, in the office, on the road and even in your car.

No drivers to install; it’s plug and play and runs off 5V USB, so you can power it from a USB compatible wall charger or even your computer.

It has two modes – compressed and expanded.  When compressed it takes on the role as a purifier, designed to grab those ultra-fine particles like dander, dust and pollen from the air; when expanded by pulling out the front, it runs like a personal fan.

Read more…AT Canoe TECH Blog

Applebee’s quietly going “No Tech Tuesday”

ApplebeesPresto

If you’re tired of hearing the people on their smartphones at the next table yelling at the top of their lungs, you’ll be happy to know that one restaurant chain in the U.S. is planning on doing something about it – at least for one day of the week.  Applebee’s plans to introduce “No Tech Tuesday” to all of its 1,800+ restaurants in the US.  In fact, according to reports, the company is filing an application to trademark the phrase.

Installing 100,000 Tablets

What’s perplexing is that back in December 2013, just over seven months ago, the company announcedthat by the end of 2014, it would have completed installation of 100,000 Intel-based E la Carte Presto tablets in their restaurants, so customers can order their meals, pay their bills, play games and have other social media interactions.

There doesn’t appear to be any detailed information as to how the scenario will play out and whether of not those tablets will go dark – on Tuesdays only.  I do find it interesting that on one hand the chain is taking a leap forward embracing new technology but on the other hand, totally doing away with it for one day of the week.

Read more…AT CanoeTech BLOG

 

iRig MIDI 2 1st portable Lightning /USB midi for iOS, Mac & PC

iRigMidi2 IK Multimedia has just released iRig MIDI 2, the first portable Lightning/USB MIDI interface for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch as well as Mac and PC.  iRig MIDI 2 adds a whole new level of portability and connectivity thanks to its detachable and interchangeable cable inputs, standard MIDI connectors and pocket-sized form factor. It’s the perfect mobile MIDI solution for the musician on the go.

iRig MIDI 2 is so flexible because all of its cables are fully detachable and interchangeable via its Mini-DIN connector: Users can swap out Lightning connector, 30-pin connector and USB cables on the fly, which allows for quick switching while on the move. All cables are bumper friendly, which means that iRig MIDI 2 can be plugged into mobile devices without having to remove any protective case. [Read more…]