Getting a jolt out of the Chevy Bolt’s practicality and versatility

GM’s top-selling electric car has plenty of features that make it attractive for everyday use, at a price that puts its chief competition to shame

With the growing public focus on the use of clean energy, electric cars sales are on the rise – and the frontrunner may surprise you.

CleanTechnica and InsideEVs, which track U.S. plug-in sales by automaker, report that in November, Chevrolet’s Bolt EV outsold Tesla’s sleek Model S.

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Epson EcoTank: Inkjet printers not dead yet

Epson_EcoTank4550

EcoTank printers can print for up to two years

Epson has unveiled a new line of printers under the EcoTank brand with such large reservoirs that right out of the box they can yield a comparable number of pages to their cousin the laser printer. And based on average monthly print volumes of selected models, the company claims that users should have enough ink to last for up to two years.

The new models include five new all-in-one printers under what Epson calls the “Supertank category” and when compared to a traditional inkjet printer, the ink in the new reservoirs would print roughly the same number of pages as 20 sets of ink cartridges. The actual yield, of course, would depend on the printer model, settings, environmental conditions like temperature and humidity and of course what you are printing. Read more…at CANOE TECH BLOG

Connected AwoX colour SmartLIGHT a modern day disco ball

 

smartlight_color_600x300Connected smart lights are becoming a lot more commonplace and many models are more than just another pretty white light. Thus is the case of the new smartphone controllable A SmartLIGHT Colour light bulb by AwoX based in Montpellier France, fairly new to the Canadian market. It looks like a regular light bulb, compatible with most common lamps, but since it’s LED, it consumes much less power and not only offers up to 16 million colours including multitude of shades of white, it can also sync to the beat your dance music giving you your own modern day disco ball.

The AwoX SmartLIGHT offers a simple smart solution powered from the AC socket of your lamp, but controlled by your iOS or Android device, pairing easily via SmartBluetooth 4.0. The free SmartCONTROL app you can get from the App Store or Google Play will allow you to control the colours, tones, intensity and more. Read more…at Canoe Tech Blog

 

Review: Nest Learning Thermostat

We can use Home Automation devices to monitor our homes, keep us secure and turn our lights on and off. So why not use technology to help monitor and control the energy used to heat and cool our homes? The Nest Learning Thermostat can do just that – on its own- via the web and also through an app. Nest isn’t totally new, but the latest version, the 2nd generation model, is certainly much improved and you don’t have to be a geek to make the most of it. Great news if you’re a resident of Alberta, you may have an opportunity to get one free from Direct Energy.

The biggest thing to appreciate is that Nest is more than just a programmable thermostat – setting the device to turn on and off at predetermined times. It knows when you turn it up and knows when you turn it down and even knows when you’re away. It monitors usage and learns your habits, when you want to be toasty warm and when you want it a little cooler. It does this for about a week or so after installation and then it programs itself. When you configure it upon set up, you also give it your postal code, so it knows what the temperature is like outside so it can also learn vis-a-vis your actual environment.

Read more… AT CANOE TECH BLOG