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This week, Nintendo reveals the Switch Lite, Bird and Lime electric scooters are launching in Alberta and Google’s Nest Hub makes my kitchen better. But first, Amazon Prime Day approaches, bringing deals on all sorts of things.

Amazon Prime Day will last 48 hours this year

On Monday (July 15), Prime Day 2019 begins at midnight (Pacific time). It’s the annual sale of consumer goods through Amazon, and there are always deals to be found. That’s what it’s all about, after all.

It’s no surprise that Amazon sells a lot of its own products on Prime Day. Pricing has already been slashed on the second generation Echo smart speaker ($70, down from $130) and the Echo Dot ($35, down from $60), and you can expect there will be deals on the Fire TV streaming stick and the new Kindle Paperwhite.

There will be lots of other products on sale, too. In recent years the Instant Pot digital pressure cookers have been popular. And this year, Amazon has “teamed up with brands around the world to offer new and special-edition products only for Prime members. These Prime Day Launches will feature products for pre-order as well as never-before-seen collections that are available for a limited time”.

Amazon is also presenting a live concert featuring Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, SZA, and Becky G. The concert airs at 6 p.m. PT on Wednesday, July 10 but you can watch it anytime through Prime Video if you’re a Prime member.

And because Whole Foods is owned by Amazon, if you’re a Prime member you can get a $10 credit to use on select items being sold on Prime Day when you spend $10 at the grocery store between now and July 16.

Bird bringing electric scooters to Calgary and Edmonton this month

Electric scooters are coming to Alberta this month. Bird will reportedly be the first on the streets and while the company had hoped to be operating in Calgary in time for the Stampede, it doesn’t seem like the devices have been deployed there yet.

Scooters are also coming to Edmonton.

It’s expected the cost will be $1.15 to unlock the scooter, and $0.35 per minute you ride, for a $4 to $6 average cost.

Lime, a competing scooter company, has been running a pilot program in and around the University of Waterloo since last fall. It also operates electric assist bicycles in Calgary as a pilot project and is also expected to have scooters running in Calgary and Edmonton this summer.

Bird Canada CEO Stewart Lyons said he expects Kelowna, B.C. to be the next city to get electric scooters.

Google Nest Hub is a great addition to my kitchen

Formerly known as the Google Home Hub, the Google Nest Hub is a smart device with a seven-inch screen that was released in Canada in June.

Available in four colours, the device also works as a hub for compatible smart home devices, including lightbulbs, doorbells, and thermostats. But I’ve got it set up in my kitchen, where it’s been a nice assistant when I’ve wanted to know what the weather is going to be like or when I’ve wanted to turn off the lights in the living room.

I’ve got it set up so that when it’s idle it operates as a digital frame, displaying photos from NASA’s archive. When I ask it a question it gives me answers in audio and video. One of the kids wanted to know what the Mona Lisa was the other day and we ended up hearing that it was created by da Vinci in 1503 and an image of the painting showed on the screen.

I’ve also used the Nest Hub for recipes, which display on the screen. And it gave me a quick video on how to properly cut a mango.

The Nest Hub was $169 when it was released but is now available for $129.

Gaming deals during Prime Day

In addition to deals on gaming accessories and peripherals like controllers, keyboards, and mice, and on games (Lego DC Supervillains is one we already know about), Prime Day is coming to Twitch.

The streaming video platform is a subsidiary of Amazon, and in advance of Prime Day there are two live events that will be streaming in the coming days as part of the Twitch Prime Crown Cup.

In London, England, celebrities will be playing a game from EA Sports, and in Las Vegas celebrities will be competing in Apex Legends.

Prime members can already get deals on in-game items, including skins for Alex Legends, an Ultimate Team pack for FIFA 19, and a customization bundle for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.

You can also get up to 12 months of Nintendo Switch Online.

Nintendo announces Switch Lite designed for handheld gaming

In a video released online today, Nintendo revealed the Switch Lite game system.

Releasing on September 20 for Cdn$260, the new device has been designed for portability. In fact, it looks a lot like the Playstation Portable handhelds, with built in controls and a 5.5-inch touch screen (compared to the 6.2-inch screen on the full size Switch).

The new system measures 3.6 inches by 8.2 inches, about half an inch shorter and more than an inch off the width. It cannot be used with a dock to display on a TV; the Switch Lite is intended for handheld use only.

Switch and Switch Lite systems are compatible for local wireless play, and while most games designed for the Switch can be played on the Switch Lite, there are some, such as 1-2-Switch, that won’t work unless you connect wireless controllers

The Lite will come in three colours: grey, yellow, and turquoise. A special Pokémon themed edition will be released on November 8 when the next games, Sword and Shield, hit the market.

A full-size Nintendo Switch retails for $380 so the Switch Lite is a great cheaper option, especially if you’re rarely using it on a TV. And given that the New Nintendo 3DS XL sells for $240, I wonder if the Switch Lite is a harbinger.

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This week, Epson’s Home Cinema projector is bright, Princeton’s IoT Inspector will help you watch the watchers, and Sega’s Genesis Mini console. But first, when ebooks stop working.

What happens when your books stop working

I love electronic books because they are convenient and accessible. I don’t love that they can suddenly disappear and sometimes there’s nothing you can do about it.

That’s what’s happened to anyone who ever purchased an title through Microsoft’s ebook store because the bookstore is closing.

The company is automatically issuing refunds to anyone who made a purchase. But the fact that they will just disappear from any device is very modern era.

Printed books you’ve purchased do not disappear if the publisher stops operating or the bookstore goes bankrupt.

This is possible because all books purchased through Microsoft’s ebook store had digital rights management built into them. That’s the technology that is ostensibly to prevent piracy, but in truth don’t actually work very well for anyone.

Cory Doctorow was shaking his head about it all last week.

In 2004 he presented a talk at Microsoft’s Research Group in which he suggested that DRM systems are “bad for business” and a “bad business-move for MSFT”.

In a Twitter thread about all this, game designer Rob Donoghue includes some links to places where you can purchase ebooks from a digital store that does not use DRM.

Epson’s newest projector casts a bright light for viewing anywhere

One of the funnest things to do in the summer is to stay up late and eat popcorn outside while watching a movie. This is best done using a projector throwing the image up on a wall or a strung-up sheet.

Given the experience I had with the Epson Home Cinema 1060 ($800), it’s my pick for the job.

The device casts a brilliant light that provides 1080p resolution viewable even in places where the ambient light is bright. I set it up in the communal cafeteria space in a Kelowna hotel where my daughter’s ball team was staying, and the images were clear and vibrant even under the flourescents.

Even the built-in speaker was passable.

I was using an iPad connected to the projector with an HDMI to stream the films, but if you’re going to use the Home Cinema 1060 to present a slide deck or photo gallery, you can connect to the device with Epson’s smartphone app and send content wirelessly.

The projector is portable enough that you can throw it in a backpack and set it up wherever need it. Which makes it perfect for those warm summer nights on the deck.

New software lets you monitor the smart devices in your home

As we make our homes smarter with programmable lightbulbs, internet-enabled doorbells, and occupancy-sensing thermostats, it’s a good idea to keep track of what those devices are doing. A new app developed at Princeton can help.

The IoT Inspector is an application that you run on your computer (it’s only available for Linux and macOS at this point; a Windows version is pending).

When your computer is on the same wireless network as the various internet connected devices in your home, the IoT Inspector can figure out what they’re doing and catch any potential problems with privacy or security.

It’s a way to become aware of the fact that your TV might actually be listening to the room. Or that your smart speaker is always connected, even if it isn’t monitoring.

The IoT Inspector app itself collects data on your usage, as the program is part of a research study. The goal is “to measure and visualize these risks, both for research and for the user” the developers write.

Sega jumping on the nostalgia train with Genesis Mini console

Nintendo’s done it. So has PlayStation. Now, Sega is bringing 42 of its classic arcade games into your living room with the Sega Genesis Mini console. It arrives on September 19 and will be priced at US$80.

The hardware is based on the original Sega Genesis which was released in October 1988 in Japan and August 1989 in North America. The Mini is about half the size of the original model and it comes with two replica controllers USB Genesis controllers.

Games from the 16-bit Sega Genesis that will be on board the Mini include Tetris, Castlevania: Bloodlines, Virtua Fighter 2, and, of course, Sonic the Hedgehog.

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