This week, a look at the new tech fund announced by the B.C. government, the options available if you want to give the gift of streaming media, and some wicked gadgets that are the perfect size for those holiday stockings.

New BC Tech Fund announced

The provincial government is making $100 million available for investing in technology start-ups in a venture capital fund.

It’s all part of a tech strategy plan.

In a release last week, the government listed these details:

• The technology sector directly employs more than 86,000 people, and wages for those jobs are 60% higher than B.C.’s industrial average.
• B.C.’s technology sector is growing faster than the overall economy. In 2013, it grew at a rate of 4.7%, higher than the 3.2% growth observed in the provincial economy.
• In 2013, the technology sector added $13.9 billion to B.C.’s GDP.
• B.C.’s 9,000 technology companies combined generated $23.3 billion in revenue in 2013.
• New technology companies are emerging at increasing rates throughout the province. In 2013, there was an addition of more than 700 new technology companies in B.C., an increase of 8% over the prior year.

It’s about time the province recognized the potential of the high-tech sector, which the Globe and Mail reported employs more people “than B.C.’s forestry, mining and oil and gas sectors, combined.”

Providing start-ups with access to capital is certainly closing a gap in the tech business sector. The province is also increasing the number of companies that can access tax credits for working in digital animation, visual effects, or interactive digital media.

There is more to the tech strategy, and the province promises to reveal it all at the BC Tech Summit, being held in Vancouver on January 18 and 19.

Streaming music, movies, and games

Gifts during the holidays don’t have to be objects. They can also be services. And there are many media streaming services available to Canadians these days.

For movies and television, there are Netflix, and Canadian offerings Shomi and CraveTV, which will be available to all Canadians in the new year.

For music, there’s Apple Music, the newfangled Google Play Music, and a host of other streaming services like Spotify.

And all gamers benefit from a subscription to PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold, which are required for online and multiplayer gaming these days, and also come with free games each month. And the game streaming service PlayStation Now, which provides access to more than 250 PS3 games, can be locked in for a year at only $100. Normally the cost is $50 for three months.

My picks for awesome gadgets for stuffing stockings

The Globe & Mail asked me to collect and write about stocking stuffers for the tech gift guide.

Among my favourites:

• Little Sun solar-powered lamp: A portable light, in the shape of a little sun, that gets its energy from the sun. Five hours of charging nets four hours of reading light, or ten hours of ambient. Sales of the Little Sun go to providing them to people in developing areas of the world who don’t have access to ready electricity.
• Cyntur JumperPack Mini: This battery pack can charge your tablet or smartphone, sure, but it packs enough power to give an eight-cylinder truck a jumpstart. I’ve got one of these packed in the emergency kit for my family’s winter road trip through the Rockies this holiday.
• Sennheiser sports earbuds: The OCX686 are the best headphones I’ve yet found for being active. They aren’t wireless, but the iOS model that I’ve been trying out has a long cord and the inline microphone has proven to be very good for taking calls. Not everyone likes the earhooks, but I don’t mind them because they keep the earbuds in place. And the OCX686 have the quality sound I expect of Sennheiser.
• Anker PowerCore battery packs: There’s a whole range of Anker devices that are small enough to fit into a purse and will give you what you need to get through a long day (or night). The PowerCore+ models support smartphones that are equipped with QualComm’s Quick Charge, which can get your device charged to 60 percent of capacity in thirty minutes.
• Razer Nabu smartbands: Razer makes devices for gamers, and these wearables are no exception. They connect to Android and iOS devices to provide notifications, they track physical activity and sleep patterns, and you can automatically share your Twitter handle with other Nabu users you shake hands with.
• Star Trek transporter coasters: These are awesome. From ThinkGeek, these coasters have an LED light that shines up through the bottom of your glass and illuminates your beverage. And when you set your glass on it, the coaster emits the transporter sound effect from the original series. Don’t let Scotty get your drink.