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Canadian women look to invest in Canadian women entrepreneurs, Epic Games buys Bandcamp, Apple’s new Mac Studio, iPad Air, iPhone SE, and green iPhone 13.

New angel investment fund launched by Canadian women tech leaders

Leen Li, the chief executive of Wealthsimple, Iliana Oris Valiente, managing director of Accenture Canada, and Tealzel Lee, founder and president of eFund, an investment vehicle based in B.C., are among the founding members of Phoenix Fire.

The new investment group will focus on angel stage investment in women entrepreneurs, who receive only three percent of venture capital funding, according to a release announcing the initiative.

The collective of thirteen founders also includes Diane Wolfenden, board chair at investment firm, Equation Angels, and Claudette McGowan, the chair of CILAR (the Coalition of Innovation Leaders Against Racism) and an executive officer with TD Bank in cyber security. “Collectively, the team has decades of investing experience, and expertise assessing and selecting successful start-ups for angel capital.”

Epic Games acquires Bandcamp

The news that video game developer and publisher Epic Games has purchased internet music company Bandcamp might seem strange, but it makes sense for both companies.

Epic’s biggest franchise right now is Fortnite, and in that virtual space the company has staged some massive musical events with such notables as Ariana Grande and Travis Scott.

Bandcamp, which was built to allow musical creators to have control over their online presence and digital sales, and it became a place where indie game developers were able to monetize the soundtracks for their games.

Epic now has direct access to artists on the platform.

Bandcamp, meanwhile, and the musicians who use it, benefit from some of the technology that Epic has developed around streaming and cross-platform integration as well as access to a global marketplace.

Chinese company, Tencent, owns 48% of Epic Games.

Apple reveals powerful new Mac, updated iPad Air, improved iPhone SE, and a green iPhone 13

Apple’s work to make its own silicon continues to pay off. The company announced yesterday the M1 Ultra chip, which practically is two M1 Max chips fused together, enabling a personal computer that can have 128 GB of RAM. The M1 Ultra has a 64-core graphical processing unit (the M1 chip has an 8-core GPU).

That incredible new chip is an option in Apple’s new Mac Studio computer, intended for professionals – like film companies and game developers – who are doing work that requires intensive processing power. Knowing this customer, Apple designed the box with lots of ports, including four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, and either two USB-C or Thunderbolt 4 ports on the front, along with an SD card slot.

The Mac Studio starts at $2,500 CAD and will ship on Friday, March 18.

The new system requires a monitor, and Apple’s new Studio Display was designed for the job. It’s a 27-inch, 5K Retina monitor ($1,999) equipped with a 12 MP ultra wide camera and six speakers.

The Peek Performance event also included reveals of a new iPad Air designed with an M1 chip and a new, ultra wide 12 MP camera.

Apple’s iPhone lineup also got an update, with a new iPhone SE, with an A15 Bionic chip (the same one that’s in the iPhone 13), 5G connectivity, and Touch ID, all starting at $579.

The iPhone 13 models, meanwhile, are now available in very nice new tints. The iPhone 13 Pro is “Alpine Green”, and the iPhone 13 is a slightly darker “Green”.

Green hasn’t looked this good since Kermit.

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Elden Ring is exactly what fans of FromSoftware games want, and two new Pokemon games are coming out for the Switch later this year.

Elden Ring overwhelms with its epic, monstrous beauty

The long awaited Elden Ring, a new adventure game by FromSoftware, has finally arrived. And it’s exactly what fans of Dark Souls, Demons Souls, and Bloodborne want. This is not unexpected, as FromSoftware was the studio behind those games.

But it will come as a relief to some that the open world aspect of Elden Ring does not diminish the unique aspects that distinguished those earlier games.

Elden Ring is difficult to the point of being punishing at times. It rewards players who learn the dance-like combat that comes from blending attacks with dodging and parrying. What’s new here, though, are stealth elements, so you can sneak attack some enemies or even avoid them altogether.

How you fight will depend on the character you create. Each weapon is distinct and you’re given every chance to customize the skills of your specific Tarnished, no matter what class you start with.

The creatures that you’ll battle are the stuff of dreams and nightmares, strange, gothic hybrids of myth and madness. If they are proving too difficult, the best advice is to go in the opposite direction, exploring and improving your weapons and abilities. The creature will still be there waiting for you when you come back.

As with earlier FromSoftware games, success can depend on your willingness to ask for help, either from other players, which you can summon into your game, and sometimes from spirits in the world that can be compelled to assist.

The story, which Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin contributed to, is about the end of en era of gods and the beginning of a dark time of demigods. You play as a “Tarnished”, one who is restored from death by a magical “Grace”.

The world is vast and varied, and you’ll come across dungeons that threaten claustrophobia but promise great rewards, a dramatic contrast to the open spaces of the outside. And in addition to the main story, you can take on missions given to you by denizens that you’ll come across.

With curious creatures, a twisting narrative, and a commitment to unique game mechanics, Elden Ring delivers a jarring, unforgettable experience.

Elden Ring is available now for PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S. It was developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco. Rated mature.

Scarlet and Violet are two new Pokemon games coming this year

In an announcement last week, Nintendo revealed that new Pokemon games are being released for the Switch later this year.

Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet have the same open world approach that was introduced with Pokemon Legends: Arceus. It’s not clear what the mechanics of battling other trainers and capturing pokemon will be like.

We do know the three pokemon that you will choose from when starting the game, though. Sprigatito is a grass type that looks like a cat, Fuecoco is a fire type that resembles a crocodile, and Quaxly is a water type duckling.

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The tech world responds to the Russian attack on Ukraine and Samsung announces two new ultralight laptops.

Tech companies and online platforms react to ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine

Twitter also published a thread of posts on how important it is to keep your personal social accounts secure and why it’s critical to verify information before sharing it. We all have a responsibility for this.

Ukraine software company MacPaw offering free software to media covering Russian attacks

CleanMyMac is a maintenance program that optimizes Apple computers by removing unnecessary files (like caches and logs) and freeing up RAM.

The software is developed by MacPaw, which is based in Kyiv, Ukraine, and MacPaw is giving the software to media covering Russia’s invasion.

Samsung reveals Galaxy Book2 Pro series of ultralight Windows machines

Last week, Samsung announced two versions of the popular Galaxy Book2 Pro laptop.

Both models come in two form factors with either a 13.3-inch or 15.6-inch display, 12-generation Intel Core processors, and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity.

The Galaxy Book2 Pro comes with a 256 GB solid-state hard drive. The 15.6-inch model retails for $1,600.

The Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 is a convertible, so you can flip the screen the other way and turn the laptop into a tablet, which is great for using the included S Pen stylus.

The 13.3-inch screen with a 256 GB solid-state drive is $1,470, and you can double the storage capacity of the hard drive for only $260. It’s also available with a 15.6-inch screen, and with improved processing chips.

The new Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro laptops will be available on April 1.

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