This week, back to school also means back to the game console, laptop alternatives for students, and apps to help you come up with the best layout for your dorm. But first, Amazon’s got a Prime deal for students.

Amazon offers Prime deal for students

It can be difficult to get out to the store to purchase staples when you’re in college or university. There’s sleeping in to be done, classes to attend, pubs and parties to put in appearances at.

Amazon Prime Student to the rescue. Students in two- or four-year programs can get a membership for half price, and set up recurring orders for things like toothpaste, granola bars, and pencils.

In addition to the convenience of free two-day shipping, you also get Prime Video and Prime Music, and deals on video-game pastimes with Twitch.

Apps for students in the dorm

Typical dormitories at colleges and universities are small spaces, but you can make the most of what you’ve got with a couple of clever smartphone apps, available for free.

• PLNAR is only available for iOS and uses the iPhone’s augmented reality to create a three-dimensional map of your room. You don’t even need a measuring tape, because PLNAR can do the measuring for you. You can export your file as a CAD file, too.
• You can also use Magicplan (Android and iOS) to design the optimal floor plan for your room, including the best way to arrange those plank-like single beds.
• Ikea Place (Android and iOS) uses augmented reality to let you see what your favourite Scandinavian furniture looks like next to that human anatomy poster.

Laptop alternatives for students

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Apple computers. But Windows 10 is a great operating system and devices running it come in a range of configurations to meet nearly any need.

Asus alone has a half dozen laptops ranging from the entry-level VivoBook series, including the basic S15 (about $1,000) and the Flip 14 (starting at about $700) which introduces the 360-degree hinge, to the Republic of Gamers devices with premium components, including the Zephyrus M ($2,800) with its groundbreaking cooling system that opens up the bottom of the laptop to allow more air to move through the machine.

There’s also the slick ZenBook series including the Pro 15 ($2,300), which has introduced a new feature called “Screen Pad” which turns the track pad into a miniature screen that can extend your desktop. It can also display media details like a small audio player and can be used to create digital signatures.

Microsoft has developed its Surface line of computers into seriously good options, too. All of them can run the full version of Windows 10 (although some are coming configured with the lightweight Windows 10 S), which means that while they may have tablet functionality, they are full-fledged computers, too.

The Surface Laptop ($1069) is a traditional laptop of the options. It will give you some 14 hours of battery life.

The Surface Pro ($1049) is a tablet that supports the Surface Pen for taking notes right on the screen, and converts easily into a laptop with the slick attachable keyboard.

Back to school means back to gaming, too

Yesterday wasn’t just back to school. It also opens the door to all the video games being released in the coming months.

Marvel’s Spider-Man, which I previewed and which I’ve been playing for the past couple of weeks, comes out on Friday, and is as good a superhero game as the Batman Arkham series from Rocksteady.

Friday is also the release day for two basketball sims, 2K’s NBA 2K19 and EA’s NBA Live 19.

Next week we get NHL 19 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the third game in the rebooted Lara Croft franchise, and on September 28 is FIFA 19 for all the footy fans.

But yesterday marked the release of Forsaken, the new expansion for Activision’s Destiny 2.

As far as the narrative is concerned, this update is significant because it seemingly kills off Cayde-6, who has been played by Nathan Fillion, and sets players in pursuit of the prison escapee who shot him with his own gun.

But Destiny 2 is also getting new weapons, new sub-classes for Hunters, Titans, and Warlocks, a new area to explore, and a new multiplayer mode called Gambit, which pits teams against each other and against the game’s AI enemies at the same time.

It’s all got me a bit breathless.

And I’m guessing that the developers at Bungie are already trying to figure out how to resurrect the beloved Cayde-6.

This week, more evidence that Canadians are smart, and getting ready for school time: hands-on with the new MacBook Pro, the Epson printer line-up, and TP-Link’s routers for robust Wi-Fi.

Scholarship recipients demonstrate Canada’s bright future

Last week, the 50 Canadians receiving Schulich Leader Scholarships were announced.

Each high school in the country can nominate one student based on their academic achievement in STEM subjects and their “entrepreneurial leadership.” Financial need is also considered.

A total of 1,400 students from across the country were nominated; 25 were awarded $100,000 towards an engineering degree and 25 received scholarships worth $80,000 for science, technology, or math degrees.

The $100 million scholarship fund was established in 2012 by Seymour Schulich, a Toronto-based businessman.

The latest iteration of MacBook Pro an improvement on an already powerful laptop

There’s something to be said about small steps leading towards big changes. With the tweaks to the new MacBook Pro, Apple has made the premium laptop a more credible option for users looking for style and performance.

I’ve been using the first-generation MacBook Pro since mid-2017 (the first models were on shelves in late 2016), and as with all Apple products, the form factor is sublime.

The replacement is thinner and lighter while delivering full-featured performance. In my use, the battery has been excellent, but I’ve always been careful about managing applications and connectivity when I knew I wouldn’t be close to power for a while.

With the first version I was concerned about it only having USB-C ports, but in the year I’ve been using it I’ve rarely been stymied. I had to replace one dongle so I could connect HDMI, but I’m rarely plugging into ports these days because so much of the work that we do is handled wirelessly.

I’ve also mostly adapted to the new “butterfly mechanism” keyboard. I never experienced any of the dust and debris failure issues that were reported by others.

And while I don’t use the Touch Bar often, I do appreciate the convenience when I need it. The touch sensitive strip along the top of the keyboard replaced the row of function keys and provides contextual controls, to adjust screen brightness and volume, for example, and to log in to the laptop with a fingertip.

All of this to say that I really appreciate this new MacBook Pro model. But it’s more computer than most will need because the average person is only using their laptop for web browsing, photo sharing, and word processing.

The hardware is available in silver and space grey, and the 13-inch devices are equipped with a quad-core Intel Core i5 starting at $2,269 for 256 GB of solid-state disc storage (you can double it for only $250, and you can upgrade to 1 TB or 2 TB).

The 15-inch size has a 6-core Intel Core i7 and starts at $2,999 for 256 GB of storage ($430 to double it, and available with 2 TB and 4 TB).

These computers were created for people performing processor-heavy tasks, like audio or video editing, photography, or design. If you are doing these things, the MacBook Pro will give you a performance bump and the Retina Display with Apple’s True Tone technology means you get incredible images on the screens.

If you want, you can connect to one or up to two high-resolution displays (13-inch and 15-inch, respectively) at a workstation.

The other benefit to spending the money on an Apple laptop is they are robust, so they will last up to twice as long as some laptops, and they retain their value.

In fact, you can trade in an old Apple computer to get up to $1,250 towards the purchase of a new MacBook Pro. You can find out what your device is worth online. Apple is also taking trade-ins of non-Apple computers, including HP, LG, and Lenovo laptops.

And students buying one now will get a pair of Beats Solo3 wireless headphones thrown in for good measure, as part of Apple’s annual back-to-school campaign.

Go old-school with printers from Epson

If you’re going to college or university this fall, or even if you’re still in high school, you may find that you’ve got teachers and instructors who aren’t quite living in the modern, digital world, and who expect you to turn in papers on, well, paper.

Don’t fret. Printers are cheaper than ever, more capable than ever, and better than ever. They’re also smaller than ever, so you don’t have to worry about taking up too much space in that tiny dorm room.

Epson’s WorkForce WF-2860 is only $129 and prints double-sided so you can save on paper.

If you need something that prints a bit faster, Epson’s Expression Premium XP-6000 is only $20 more, and can print a photo in 15 seconds.

You can use both printers without needing a printer cable, too. You connect to them over your wireless network.

Setting up Wi-Fi in your dorm or apartment

If you’re sharing a space, whether on campus or off, you’re going to want to set up your own Wi-Fi. TP-Link makes this easy with powerful, reasonably-priced routers.

The AC2300 ($150) is a solid basic router that provides multi-user multiple input and multiple output (MU-MIMO) functionality which enables multiple devices to be connected at the same time without affecting the speed of others.

If you’re in a house with a bunch of others, you can extend that network with one of TP-Link’s range extenders. The AC2600 ($140) is the most powerful of the bunch, and is easy to install: simply plug it into a nearby wall outlet.

For those who need lag-free performance for those late nights taking out competitors online, TP-Link has just released a gaming router in the AC5400 ($450) that provides astounding Wi-Fi speeds over the three frequency bands (2.4 Ghz, and two 5 Ghz) it operates on.

If you really need the speed, the AC5400 has a “link aggregation” feature that can deliver hardlined devices speeds of up to 2 Gbps.

This week, a first-hand perspective on the latest models of OLED televisions from LG, the general public see how popular esports is as The International takes over Vancouver, and Khan Academy has built an app for young kids. But first, with HomePod, Apple demonstrates a continuing commitment to music.

Apple’s HomePod sounds great, integrates well with HomeKit automation

The HomePod isn’t a large device, but it’s heavy. Which makes sense given the audio components crammed into the cylinder. It’s got a single, circular woofer to deliver bass tones, and seven tweeters for the mid-range and high frequency sounds.

And it sounds amazing.

First released in February, the smart speaker didn’t come to Canada until June 18. It’s available for $449 in either Space Grey or White, and while that price might seem high, it’s actually reasonable when you look at the cost of competitors.

The Sonos Play:3 is $329 and the Google Max is $499. Amazon’s larger Echo is only $130 regularly priced, but I’m not even sure the Echo is in the same category as the HomePod.

Unequaled sound reproduction

Apple decided long ago to focus on the experience of music as a driver of its products. And while the HomePod was a bit slow in coming to the smart speaker category, it delivers on that experience.

The HomePod delivers the best sound of them all. To my ears, Sonos speakers come close, but the Amazon Echo and Google Home speakers are inferior.

Apple has played up the “spatial awareness” of the HomePod, which refers to the speaker’s ability to adjust its output depending on which room, and where in the room, it is placed.

I tested this by moving it around my home, and whether it was in the corner of a bedroom, along the wall of the living room, or on the counter of the kitchen, the sound was always clear and crisp.

Let your preferred ecosystem be your guide

If you’re a committed Google user, though, there’s little that the HomePod can do that is going to get you to switch.

Amazon Echo users, though, may be convinced. Alexa is further ahead in the digital assistant functionality, but the HomePod can be used as a speakerphone and delivers superior sound quality, not to mention having the better music service with Apple Music.

If you’ve already got Sonos speakers at home, you’ll find that the HomePod works nicely with them now that AirPlay 2 has been released.

And if you’re in the Apple ecosystem, you can throw audio to HomePod from any of your other Apple devices, including iPads, iPods, computers, and even Apple TV.

Control your home with HomeKit

The HomePod is also a way of collecting and controlling the myriad home automation devices you might have. You can use simple voice commands to have Siri control everything from connected lightbulbs and thermostats to doorbells and door locks.

In a sense, HomePod isn’t anything special because it’s simply giving you access to the range of productivity tools and apps Apple has built into it’s ecosystem.

You can add and modify notes, reminders, and calendar bookings. You can send messages and use it as a speakerphone to make calls.

The only thing that HomePod can’t do, yet, is fully understand Canadian French. Support for that language is coming “later this year”. Mon dieu.

Living large with LG’s dynamic OLED TV

Last fall I convinced at least two people to purchase OLED televisions from LG. My pick of best screen available was the LG B7, and to see these on the walls of my friends has made me a bit jealous, to be honest.

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve had the next iteration of LG OLED on my wall. Now I want one of these.

The LG 65-inch C8 is, in a word, astonishing.

The picture emanating from the organic, light-emitting diode screen is rich, responsive, and breathtaking. My family watched Spider-Man: Homecoming and Planet Earth II, both in 4K and with HDR, and even a theatre experience can’t compete with LG’s OLED.

With more and more 4K content being created and made available – Neftlix is at the forefront of this shift – your next TV will be an ultra high-definition display. If you can spare the dollars, it should be an OLED screen. They are thin, they display pure black, they have intense colour, and they’ve got the best response rate, so no worry of motion blur while watching fast-moving action.

The one knock against OLED has been brightness, but that doesn’t seem to be much of an issue with the new LG models.

In addition to that quality of the image, the LG OLEDs are also smart TVs with web browsing and all the standard apps.

The remote is also equipped with a microphone so you can take advantage of the voice control that’s built into the TV’s operating system. You can tell your TV to change inputs and to shut down at particular times.

The C8 that I’ve been using is listed for $4,000 but can be found for $2,700. Jumping up to the 65” is $1,000 more. There’s a 77-inch model, too, listed at $12,000 and selling for $10,000.

The only difference between the C8 and the more expensive E8 is audio and speakers. If you’re connecting to a tuner or sound bar, you don’t need to spend more for the E8.

Start saving your pennies.

The International heats up Vancouver’s Rogers Arena

This week, gamers from around the world have converged on Rogers Arena in downtown Vancouver for The International, arguably the biggest e-sports event in the world. Tens of thousands of them.

The event sold out within minutes of tickets coming available, so if you don’t have one you won’t be attending. But you can watch the action live. Games typically last between 30 and 45 minutes.

This is the first time the International, which has been held annually since 2011, has been staged in Canada.

Unlike other esports events, The International features teams playing only one game: DOTA 2. The free-to-play game is played by millions every day. It’s a “MOBA,” an acronym for multiplayer online battle arena, and it features two teams of five players trying to protect their area while trying to attack and destroy an artifact in the opponent’s zone.

The total purse for the event is US$25 million. The amount is crowdsourced from players, partially through purchases of the game’s Battle Pass.

Vancouver gamer Artour Babaev, Arteezy, who is a stalwart for Evil Geniuses, has helped his team progress to the quarter finals on Wednesday evening (August 22).

The Grand Final goes on Saturday (August 25). Don’t miss it.

New Khan Academy program for preschool kids

Khan Academy, the free, online education site that has been disrupting education for years, is looking to support the early education of young children.

Khan Academy Kids is a new app, free to download, available for Android and iOS. It provides games and fun activities that help build the fundamentals for education, including the alphabet, basic numeracy and math, reading, and logical reasoning.

It’s a companion of sorts to the existing app for older kids and adults (Android and iOS).

The new app was designed to “adapt over the years as a child grows,” the company said in a release, “and includes social-emotional learning.”

This week on The Shift with Drex, we talked about the confusion around reports that Google keeps tracking you even if you disable location tracking, Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 9 premium handset, Fortnite’s release on Android, and the EGLX Gaming Expo’s return to Toronto.

This week, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 is big and beefy, Fortnite gets released for Android devices while an agency is conducting interviews in the free-to-play game, and the EGLX Gaming Expo will be back in Toronto this October. But first, what’s going on with Google tracking people?

Is Google tracking you? It’s complicated, but it shouldn’t be

There’s been lots of talk in the past couple of days about whether Google is tracking you.

An Associated Press story reported that even after users turned off “Location History” in Google Maps, their Android phones still collected information about where they had been.

The problem is a misunderstanding of settings and preferences, and with how software developers create labels for their applications.

“Location History” is a setting for Google Maps. It’s very specific to that application. And it’s a setting that is tied to your Google Account, and can be active across all devices on which you use Google Maps.

You can disable that setting, and Google Maps will no longer record your location or movement.

But other apps have their own settings that may or may not tag your location.

There is a way to disable all of this, though, and that’s through your device settings. The label for that setting is “Location Services” on iOS devices, and “Security & location” on Android devices running 8 (Oreo).

Google told the AP that it was providing, “clear descriptions of these tools, and robust controls so people can turn them on or off, and delete their histories at any time.”

I believe that Google is providing the tools and controls.

I don’t think they are doing a very good job of being clear about any of it, though.

Samsung shows off Galaxy Note 9

In nearly every sense of the word, the Galaxy Note 9 is big.

Big screen (6.4 inches, the largest screen offered in a handset), big battery (4,000 mAh will last a while and Samsung has improved its safety certification processes to avoid a repeat of the Note 7 recall), big storage capacity (128 GB standard, upgradeable to 512 GB, with a microSD slot that can add 512 GB for a total of 1 TB).

Big on features, too.

Samsung unveiled the new premium handset in New York last week, and one of the coolest things that’s been added is Bluetooth connectivity to the S Pen stylus. That means you can use it as a remote shutter when taking a selfie, or to control your presentation deck when you’re at the front of the boardroom.

You can still use the S Pen as a stylus, too, for taking notes or doodling on a picture.

Something else that makes the Note 9 an appealing option for power users is that you don’t need a dock to use it like a computer, you can simply plug it into a monitor and connect a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

The camera has the same dual-aperture lens that was introduced with the Galaxy S9 Plus and adds a “flaw detection” feature that will notify you if there’s something wrong with the picture you’ve taken so you can get another shot.

The Note 9 is priced at a premium, though. The 128 GB model is $1300 and the 512 GB is $1630.

For comparison, the iPhone X is at $1320 for 64 GB and $1530 for 256 GB.

Pre-ordering the Note 9 before August 23 will get you a pair of Samsung’s Gear IconX wireless earbuds (worth $300 in stores). The handset will be released on August 24.

In Canada, only the 128 GB model will be sold by carriers. It will be available in “Midnight Black” or “Ocean Blue”.

The 256 GB model will be available only from Samsung in “Midnight Blue”, either online at Samsung or in Samsung Experience stores.

Fortnite comes to Android

In case you haven’t been paying attention, Fortnite is one of the most popular games in the world right now.

It’s so popular that it may be causing carpal tunnel syndrome in MLB pitchers.

It’s so popular that players at the World Cup worked into their post-goal celebrations physical moves from the game.

Fortnite’s main game is a battle royale, where a group of up to 100 players are dropped into a map to fight it out until there’s only one left. The hook is that the area progressively shrinks in size, and if you’re outside the zone you take damage and die.

While it’s been playable since last year on game consoles (PS4, Switch, Xbox One), Windows computers, and mobile devices running iOS, it was just last week that Samsung announced a limited exclusive on Android devices.

Other Android users looking to play Fortnite can sign up to be emailed an invitation to download and play.

Fortnite is free to play, but you can spend real money to customize your character. For Cdn$35 you can get 2500 V-Bucks, and the cost-per-buck goes down as you buy more, so $80 will get you 6,000 V-Bucks.

Items, from costumes to tools to emotes cost between 200 and 2000 V-Bucks.

Agency holding job interviews in Fortnite

Fortnite is so popular, that French ad agency Dare.Win is conducting interviews while playing the game.

The six-month internships are based in Paris and agency rep Brouchon told AdAge, “We’d love to meet and welcome some foreign students. The more cultural diversity you have, the stronger you get.”

Dare.Win counts PlayStation among its clients. Others include Netflix, Spotify, Ubisoft, and YouTube.

EGLX Gaming Expo returns to Toronto this fall

Tickets are on sale now for the EGLX Gaming Expo, which takes over the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from October 26 to October 28.

The expo promises dozens of playable games from major publishers and indie developers, as well as art, toy, and collectible vendors. Plus, Toronto Maple Leaf right winger Mitch Marner will be appearing on Sunday, October 28.

Two video game tournaments are also being held at the expo.

The Canada Cup 2018 will feature gamers going head-to-head playing fighting games including Tekken 7, Super Smash Bros, and Street Fighter V.

Also being staged is the Canadian national qualifying finals for the World Electronic Sports Games with a prize pool of Cdn$150,000.

Weekend passes for the EGLX Gaming Expo are only $60 with early bird pricing, and an entire family (two adults, two kids) can get in for $85 a day.