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This week, get to fighting with Injustice 2, see how good Modern Warfare looks now, and indulge your Sega nostalgia with your smartphone. But first, Nintendo’s got a new mini-console just for you.
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This week, get in early for Google experiments with Area 120, and celebrating a 10-year-old iPhone. But first, what’s really going on with the Petya virus?
Experts in digital security believe that the attack on computer systems this week is not actually designed to hold systems and data for ransom.
Instead, it seems as though it was designed only to “spread fast and cause damage” according to one researcher.
The latest attack started in the Ukraine on the day before the country was to celebrate its breakaway from the Soviet Union, so some suggest Russian hackers are to blame.
What we do know is that the tools that were used to conduct this attack and the WannaCry ransomware attack in May, came from the National Security Administration in the U.S. Not that they’re taking responsibility for anything.
More on this from:
If you’re one of those people who love to mess around with your smartphone, you might want to think about signing up for early access to Google’s Area 120 initiative.
It’s a division of the company devoted to experimenting with mobile products and applications. The name of the company comes from the fact that people working on an Area 120 project spend 100% of their time on 20% projects.
What’s a 20% project?
Twenty percent time was a concept laid out by Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page in a letter from 2004 in which they claimed that employees have “‘20 percent time’ – effectively one day per week – in which they are free to pursue projects they are passionate about and think will benefit Google.”
At Area 120, the people go in knowing that most of the things they’re going to build and iterate on will fail. But this is an idea that is central to success these days: fail early, fail often, and learn from what didn’t work.
If you’re interested in what it’s like, and you’re using an Android or iOS mobile device, you can participate as an early user and tester by signing up.
This week marks ten years since Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone, and the Internet is full of reflections on the impact the mobile device has had.
Some of my faves:
What today’s iPhone can do is mighty.
Apple Canada this week debuted the short film, “A Portrait of Canada,” which celebrates the diversity and optimism of the country.
With words by Humble the Poet and music by A Tribe Called Red, the visuals were captured with iPhones. Photographer Caitlin Cronenberg anchored the images, which are interspersed in the 40-second film with iPhone photos taken by people from across Canada.
And because nothing ever disappears from the Internet, you can watch Steve Jobs introduce that original iPhone back in 2007.
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Last Friday on the Corus Radio Network, Charles Adler and I talked about the resignation of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, Netflix’s new interactive feature that lets audiences choose the direction of the story, and the joy of wildlife webcams.
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This week, the truth about those Amazon credits you’ve been hearing about on Facebook, choose your own adventure with Netflix, and watching Chick D grow up. But first, Travis Kalanick has resigned as CEO of Uber.
Uber, the ride-hailing technology company that has completely disrupted the taxi and limousine industries around the world, continues to shudder from the credible accusations of a sexist culture and questionable business practices.
This week, CEO Travis Kalanick resigned after being presented with a list of demands from five of the company’s biggest investors. Kalanick had, the week before, agreed to take a leave of absence.
Also last week, board member David Bonderman made a stupid, sexist comment during an Uber employee meeting.
Ariana Huffington said something about how females on boards lead to more females joining boards of directors.
“Actually, what it shows is that it’s much more likely to be more taling,” Bonderman said. Bonderman has since resigned.
Uber is now without a CEO, a CFO, and a COO. Other top executives are under scrutiny or have been fired.
Benefitting from the chaos is competitor Lyft, which is not yet operating in Canada.
People may have been frantic about all the posts this week about credits on Amazon accounts that are expiring tomorrow.
Well, you can relax, because unless you’re in the U.S. with a U.S.-based Amazon account, this does not apply to you.
The credits for U.S. Amazon customers are the result of a class-action lawsuit against Apple for price fixing with book publishers.
Earlier this year, Canada’s Compeition Bureau reached an agreeement to rebalance the e-book market, but there have been no settlement costs discussed for Canadian book buyers.
With a new episode of the animated series Puss in Boots, Netflix is giving audiences the chance to get involved in the telling of the tale.
When viewers watch Puss in Book, which is available now, on select devices, they will be given opportunities to pick a direction for the story. When Puss ends up in the Goldilocks story, for example, you can choose to make the bears friendly or menacing.
The story that plays out changes depending on your choices.
It’s the kind of thing that isn’t available on all systems that Netflix is on. The branching stories are only supported on smart TVs, streaming media players, game consoles, and iOS devices (and not the web, Android devices, or Apple TV).
An interactive episode of Buddy Thunderstruck will be coming in July.
A new spotted owl chick is growing up before our very eyes.
Chick D is the offspring of Shania and Scud, two residents of Langley’s Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Centre. You can watch them on a webcam that is streamed by B.C.‘s Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program.
Explore has dozens of webcams that give you the chance to see wildlife in their natural habitat, including polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba and orcas and other marine animals off the coast of B.C.
The Alberta Conservation Association has webcams watching nine different peregrine falcon families.
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Video games
This week, the various video game systems your kids are asking you for, but first, Amazon Prime Video comes to Canada.
Crave and Netflix have a new competitor. On Wednesday, Amazon announced that Prime Video had been made available in Canada.
Prime Video, which is free to anyone with an Amazon Prime membership ($79 annually), is a video service that has movies and television shows in its library.
Like Netflix, you can also download content from Amazon Prime to watch later.
In its library are shows including Justified, The Night Manager, and Fear the Walking Dead, and movies like The Fast and the Furious and Across the Universe.
The company also has a production department. Amazon Original Series is responsible for the award-winning Transparent, starring Jeffrey Tambor, the miniseries The Man in the High Castle, based on the Philip Dick novel, and Hand of God, in which Ron Perlman plays a judge who believes he is getting visions from God.
It’s also home to The Grand Tour, the new series from the former hosts of automobile enthusiast show Top Gear.
Prime Video is adding to the benefits enjoyed by members of Amazon Prime, who also get free two-day shipping on many items sold at the online store, free unlimited photo storage, and special discounts.
In the past, there’s only been a couple of choices when it comes to choosing a video game system to be a gift. Not this year. Technology advances such as virtual reality and high dynamic range (HDR) have helped drive the demand for high-powered hardware.
The easiest way to get into virtual reality is with PlayStation, especially if you’ve already got a PlayStation 4 console. The price on this is a bit misleading, because for PSVR to work, you also need a PlayStation Camera ($75) and, depending on the game you’re playing, you may also need PlayStation Move Controllers (two pack for $130). But if you can afford the experience, there are some amazing things to discover in those virtual worlds. ($550)
If you want to get into the other virtual reality systems from HTC Vive or Oculus Rift, there’s a good chance you’re going to need a new computer to support the headsets. The new Alienware 13 is powerful enough to drive those VR experiences, but portable enough to cart about. One configuration ships with a stunning OLED touch display, and the Alienware 13 also works with the manufacturer’s graphics amplifier, so you can get even better performance out of the system when you’re at your desk. (starting at $1,500, $2,450 with OLED display)
This little console is quite the deal if you can find one in stock anywhere. A miniaturized replica of the original Nintendo NES, the Classic Edition comes equipped with 30 classic video games built right in, including favourites like Donkey Kong, the Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Super Mario Bros. ($80)
Similar to the NES Classic is this box that comes with more than 90 titles from publishers including Capcom and Jaleco, including games like 1942, Bionic Commando, Ghouls ’n Ghosts, Mercs, and Super R-Type. (US$60)
The newest console from Microsoft brings the ability to watch 4K video from either streaming or Blu-ray sources and supports stunning high dynamic range (HDR) images. Plus, it’s the only console on which you can play games like Vancouver-developed Gears of War 4. ($400)
Sony’s released two consoles in as many months and if you don’t already have one, and you want one, and you’re considering PSVR, this is the console for you. While any PS4 supports PSVR, this high-powered machine can do so with ease. It’s also designed to deliver astounding visuals. ($500)
We’re all playing more games on our mobile devices than ever before. With the GameVice controller, you can make playing games on your iOS devices more like a console experience. You clip your iPhone or iPad into the GameVice and you get console control with analog sticks, a directional pad, buttons, and even bumpers. ($140)
From computer manufacturer MSI is this slick device, which is a full on gaming laptop built into a backpack. The idea is to make the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift VR headsets, which have cables that need to be connected to computers to work, somewhat portable. It’s built with some extreme cooling measures and swappable battery packs, so you can just stay in that virtual environment forever. (starting at $2,700)
The Mind Control Division is the intelligence arm of Blaine Kyllo's Solo Corps Creative Incorporated. This department conducts investigations and experiments into media and technology culture.