May the fourth be with you.

This week, Radiohead disappears, learn a bit about the backstory to new game Battleborn, and find out what connects Ratchet and Clank to Vancouver. But first, why you might want to try Waze the next time you’re driving around the Lower Mainland.

What it’s like to use Waze to find your way around the Lower Mainland

A couple of weeks ago I learned about Waze, a smartphone app (for Android and iOS), that provides navigation information for drivers.

What makes Waze (a Google company) different from the nav information you might get from Google Maps or Apple’s Maps is that it collects information from multiple sources when coming up with route options, including real-time traffic data from drivers and even information from governmental departments of transportation.

As I wrote in the Straight, using Waze took me on routes I would never have considered.

You can use the Waze app with voice commands, and the app makes it easy to find alternate routes, and even provides you – and others you want to notify – with an ETA.

And there are sometimes special voices that you can use to tell you where to go. In the past, voices have included the Terminator, C-3PO, and even Colonel Sanders.

As a spokesperson told me, you may know which way to go, but what you don’t know is what’s lying on the road ahead of you. Waze aims to help with that.

Radiohead disappears from the Internet in advance of new album release

On Sunday, Radiohead slowly disappeared from the webs.

The Facebook account for the Oxford, England-based band was stripped of posts. So were the Twitter accounts for the band and its frontman, Thom Yorke.

And Radiohead’s website became slowly opaque until it was nothing but white space.

It’s not blank anymore. On Tuesday, the page featured a video for the single, “Burn the Witch”, presumably the first track from a new album that is on the verge of release.

It’s a clever strategy to get some attention in the noisy online space for a new album, although it’s the kind of thing that would only work for a band with enough of a following that the disappearing act would get people talking about what was going on.

Radiohead’s promotional play comes on the heels of Beyonce’s release of her new album, Lemonade. It debuted as a short film on HBO before being released elsewhere. As it stands now, you can purchase the visual album on Amazon, iTunes, and Tidal. The visual album can be streamed on Tidal, while Pandora is streaming the audio tracks only,

Ratchet & Clank film hits screens as the game takes off

The remake of the Ratchet & Clank video game for PS4 was released in mid-April, and has been selling well enough to debut atop the UK sales chart where it was released last week.

Last Friday, the film based on the game hit theatres. Unlike past screen adaptations of video games, this one was cooperative all the way, with animations and other assets being shared between the two production teams.

The film was produced in Vancouver at Rainmaker Entertainment, the game at Insomniac Games in Burbank, California.

The original Ratchet & Clank came from Insomniac in 2002. The new title is a retelling of the origin story, a buddy adventure set on a faraway system and featuring a nefarious villain named – wait for it – Nefarious.

Both the game and the film are good fun, filled with clever, winking humour.

Step into the Battleborn story, then play the game

Battleborn, the new team-based shooter game from Gearbox Software, releases this week for PS4, Windows, and Xbox One.

The rambunctious game, which features a roster of 25 characters you can become, is about the defense of the last star in the universe. But it’s not as simple as coming together to save everyone. The 25 characters represent five different factions, and they don’t normally get along very well.

To set the stage for the story, Gearbox has created a three part motion comic series that acts as a prequel to the game. The episodes introduce the factions and the characters that you’ll play, as well as the bad guys who are hellbent on the end of everything.

Chapter 1: Running the Numbers

Chapter 2: The Rescue

Chapter 3: No More Heroics

On last week’s Drex Live, Drex explained why he’s cancelled Netflix, and I explained why everyone who’s complaining about the company shutting down geoblockers should quit their whining.

We also talked about the big Google grant awarded to local non-profit, Neil Squire Society, and a new way to do your grocery shopping courtesy of Fresh St. Market.

Listen to our conversation.

This week, a Burnaby non-profit benefits from a big grant from Google, local grocery store minichain Fresh St. Market has a new way for you to pick up groceries, and why you need to stop whining about Netflix cracking down on your IP blocking.

Burnaby organization gets a Google grant to develop a mouth-controlled input device for mobiles

Smartphones and touchscreens have changed how we communicate and how we use computers. But not everyone is able to take advantage of that tactile interface.

The Neil Squire Society, which empowers Canadians with disabilities through research, technology, and employment programs, has been awarded US$800,000 by Google.org, the division of the company that supports nonprofits in addressing humanitarian issues.

The grant was given to support the development of the LipSync, a joystick that enables a person to control a mobile device with their mouth.

The joystick moves a cursor on the smartphone, and clicks are performed by puffing into the joystick.

The LipSync allows people who may not be able to use their hands to operate a touchscreen device.

With the grant from Google.org, the Burnaby-based society will release the LipSync designs as open source so they can be used by anyone.

Fresh St. Market has a new way for you to get groceries

Fresh St. Market has only two locations, West Vancouver and Surrey, but the company is looking to expand its clientele by offering new ways to shop.

Residents of the North Shore and most of Surrey can place an online order and have groceries delivered to their home. But what if you can’t – or don’t want to – hang around for the two hour window when your delivery is expected?

To accommodate those customers, Fresh St. Market will put your order into a locker for you to pick up at your convenience.

The company says that locker systems are already being used in Australia and Europe.

After placing an online order, you can select Click & Collect when checking out. A shopper at the store gets your order together, puts it in the refrigerated locker, and texts you a code that will open the locker.

To start, lockers are only available at the two Fresh St. locations in West Van and Surrey. But a spokesperson said that more locker locations will be added as demand for the service picks up.

The cost to have someone do your shopping at stash it for you to pick up? Only $3.99.

Stop whining about Netflix blocking your cheating ways

So Netflix has cracked down on all of those crafty ways you’ve used to hide your location. Boo hoo. So you can’t watch all the same shows as your American cousins. Sorry for you.

If you choose to cancel your Netflix subscription, you are free to do so. But don’t whine about it being because the price is going up and there just isn’t enough choice. Because that’s crap.

For $8 a month I’m getting original series including Daredevil, House of Cards, The Code, Sense8, and Jessica Jones. There are even more but I can’t keep up with them all.

And if I’ve even got time to watch older shows, there’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Futurama, Black Books, The 100. Movies. TV shows. Stuff for kids and grandparents.

For $8. I’ll pay more to get those programs served directly to me wherever and whenever I want.

Sure, American Netflix may have a bigger catalogue. The fact that Netflix can’t offer the same programs in Canada isn’t because they want to piss you off. It’s simply the residual effect of an old, territorial business model. But those borders are starting to fade fast, and it won’t be long before they’re gone.

If you’re really feeling like you’re missing out on something, then you can have Netflix and Shomi and Crave. Between the three of them you’re still paying less than $50 a month, and you’ve got nearly all your bases covered.

Be happy that you were able to work the system for as long as you did. But don’t cry now that the party is over. You’ve got choices. Make them.

And stop complaining about it.

This week on Drex Live, topics included:

• Dyson’s new fan and smartphone app
• Landmark Cinemas locking in Atom Tickets for smartphone ordering
• Why autonomous cars like a test model Ford Fusion don’t need headlights

Listen to the conversation

This week, a new way to get your movie tickets on your smartphone and a Ford Fusion drives itself around in the dark. But first, there’s a new Dyson fan available, but it’s much more than just a fan.

Dyson’s new fan opens a window to the connected home

The newest tech device from Dyson combines air purifying and air circulation in the form of the Dyson Pure Cool Link. It’s also the first device from the company that can be controlled with a smartphone.

The new fan is equipped with Dyson’s air multiplier technology, which creates a smooth flow of air without any fan blades, and an efficient motor. It also has a replaceable HEPA filter that the company says removes 99.97 percent of pollutants and allergens from your interior air.

An Environmental Protection Agency study cited by Dyson found that air pollution inside our buildings can be up to five times worse than outside.

The HEPA filter in the Pure Cool Link can remove particles as small as .03 microns, including tobacco smoke, carbon dust, and cooking oil smoke. It can filter out of the air volatile organic compounds, asbestos, and fumes.

Because the purifier is built into a fan, it means that air is not only cleaned, but circulated as well.

But the real disruption in the Pure Cool Link is that it is connected, which means you can control it with the free Dyson Link app, available for Android and iOS.

As Dyson releases more devices for the connected home, you’ll be able to access those with your smartphone, too.

The Dyson Pure Cool Link comes in two models, one sized for a desk or table ($500) and a tower for the floor ($600), and two colours, blue iron and white silver.

Other high quality air purifiers are larger, create more noise, and can cost over $400. Considering that, the Pure Cool Link, which is quiet and attractive and is as good or better at cleaning the air, is a bargain.

Landmark Cinemas chain introduces Atom Tickets ordering

Landmark Cinemas, which has movie theatres in Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, and scattered throughout Ontario, has selected California’s Atom Tickets to provide moviegoers with the opportunity to purchase tickets with their mobile devices.

The Cineplex theatre chain has had smartphone and online ordering for years, but this is the first time that Landmark, with 46 theatres across Canada, has let customers order with an app.

More than just letting you skip the line at the ticket booth — and the concession, because you can also pre-order your popcorn — you can choose to let Atom’s app to connect to your social channels, so you can “rally” your friends to join you at the film.

The Atom app actually provides information about all movies playing at all theatres near you, but you’re only able to purchase tickets and concession items for Landmark theatres.

And in the month of April, as a way of celebrating the new functionality, people who create an Atom profile are getting their first ticket free.

Driving at night, without lights, and without a driver

Tesla and Google aren’t the only car manufacturers playing around with robot cars. Last week, Ford released a video taken at its test track in Arizona showing a Fusion driving itself around a track in complete darkness.

Many autonomous car systems make use of cameras, many of which require light to operate. Ford’s system is using LiDAR (light detection and ranging), which works with 3D maps of the environment to navigate.

The night-vision glasses worn by the engineers show the laser pulses being sent out by the LiDAR array on top of the vehicle.

Cheezy suspense music aside, the fact that the Ford Fusion was able to navigate a track in complete darkness just shows how close we are to true autonomous vehicles.