June | 2014 | Trendy Techie

June 27, 2014
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#EskaQuest App Scavenger Hunt Toronto

It’s not everyday you get to use an app and social media as an integral part of a social event, but this is exactly what EskaQuest is aiming to do in Toronto this coming July! A great opportunity for the whole family, this digital scavenger hunt will have Torontonians searching the city for ESKA-themed tiles with QR codes that connect to interactive smartphone challenges. Each completed challenge earns you points that can help you win one of 10 iPad minis!

“Our smartphones often close us off from the world around us,” says Jim Delsnyder, President and CEO of Eaux Vives Water Inc. “Eskaquest marries the online and offline world to encourage people to get outside, take in your surroundings, and really see our amazing city.” This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a non-tech company cite smartphones as a limiting distraction - remember FOCUS, the unexpected fashion line by Trident Gum? But the difference is, where Trident shut our phones out, ESKA is embracing and changing the distraction to make it an integral part of the experience.

There are two ways to play EskaQuest: Solo and Clues. Solo participants can compete throughout July by viewing the map at eskaquest.com, which shows the area where tiles are hidden. In the Clues competition, clues about the locations will be revealed throughout July on ESKA Water’s social media feeds: Facebook, Twitter (@ESKA_Water) and Instagram (@ESKAWater). Both ways to play last for all of July and use the app for challenges, which is free for download on eskaquest.com and on the Apple and Android app stores. What a great way to integrate technology, activity and summer!

June 24, 2014
by thetrendytechie 6 Comments

Diane von Furstenberg Google Glass Available for Purchase on Net-a-Porter + Bonus Top Apps

It feels like just a few months ago that Google Glass made its controversial splash as the first “everyday” augmented reality eyewear to hit the market, and now it has not only been given a (much-needed) high-fashion facelift by renowned designer Diane von Furstenberg, but it is also available for anyone to purchase on Net-a-Porter! Anyone willing to shell out $1800, that is.

The frames, which come with attachable sunglass shades, allow you to augment your life with the number of Glass apps available on the market. Social sharing, interaction with people and objects, and navigation are some of the everyday actions that have been simplified by Glass. Here are my top three Glass apps that are actually useful (not just cool, pretty or vision-cluttering):

1. AR Wikipedia for Google Glass

AR (Augmented Reality) Wikipedia implements the most basic and useful of Google Glass concepts: it provides you with information about your surroundings, populated from Wikipedia. Really useful for travelers and for those moving to new cities!

2. Watch Me Talk

Watch Me Talk provides live captioning of conversations to help the hearing impaired converse with others in real time. Watch Me Talk is currently in beta, and promises some amazing upcoming features including live translation for travelers conversing in different languages! This app will make it a lot easier for people to travel, and so much easier for the hearing impaired to live in our sound-based world.

3. Glossaic

Photosharing for Glass - a social network complete with competitions that displays Glass photos from around the world in one beautiful collage. Basically like Instagram for your glasses.

So what do you think, will you buy them? I think I will…once they come down in price. I’m dying to get my hands on a pair so I can develop on them! They use the Android OS, as expected since they’re made by Google, so it shouldn’t be too hard with the SDK!

June 23, 2014
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CreoPop, the World’s First Cool-ink 3D Printing Pen - Crowdfunding Now!

creopop_3D_printing_pen_3

3D printing, a once expensive and rare technology, has recently become accessible to the public in many ways: as part of the manufacturing process, as a marketable service, and as an art form. 3D printers can now be found in makerspaces and public libraries, and are sold commercially for home use. But even more exciting than 3D printers are 3D printing pens, pens that let you write in plastic and create sculptures on the go. Until now, 3D printing pens have presented a safety hazard because of the heat they produce when melting the plastic, some reaching up to a dangerous 500 degress Fahrenheit! But CreoPop has created the world’s first cool-ink 3D printing pen that uses UV lighting instead of heating to melt and set the ink, making it safe and child-friendly. It is also wireless and USB-chargeable, making it easier to use and more convenient than it’s corded counterparts.

CreoPop has also changed the game with a range of “cool inks” including magnetic, elastic, conductive, glow-in-the-dark, body, and heat-sensitive inks. These inks will let you make things that are actually useful, not just knickknacks. The conductive, elastic and magnetic inks could even be used in the classroom, as part of science experiments and projects. On top of the cool factor, all the inks are environmentally friendly and contain no toxic materials.

Want one of your own? CreoPop is currently funding on Indiegogo, and the first bunch is set to ship in early 2015. The campaign has been very successful so far - though it has only been open for less than a week it has already reached 154% of its initial $40,000 goal. The earlybird price of the pen is $79 USD + shipping, and comes with 5 ink cartridges, each of which prints a 14m line of 3mm width.

Join me and support this awesome project!

June 20, 2014
by thetrendytechie 2 Comments

Vita Bella

Halifax in the summer is truly beautiful. The sun breaks through thick fluffy clouds and illuminates not only the sparkling ocean water but the bright flowers and life of this small, bustling city. Though the summer is Halifax’s busiest time of year, it’s peaceful in the Public Gardens, a beautiful historic oasis right in the heart of the downtown core, protected from metropolis by wrought iron gates.

Once you walk through the beautiful entrance you are greeted by beautiful chubby bees, thousands of flowers, and gorgeous footbridges crossing the winding streams that mark the landscape with soft babbles and twists. It’s an experience of solitude and safety, and reassurance that everything is going to be okay.

I wish you were here to experience the sweetness in the air, the softness of the breeze, the perfect balance of nature in this city by the sea. This garden is a taste of la vita bella, the beautiful life of worry-free happiness, love and light.

The quality of your light often steals my breath.

OUTFIT:

dress: PINKO Italia

necklace: Foxine

flower ring: Juicy Couture

silver and gold daisy bracelet: Metalsmiths

shoes: Michael Kors

June 19, 2014
by thetrendytechie 1 Comment

My Phone’s Dead, Can I Borrow Your…Pants?

The tech wizards at Microsoft have teamed up with British designer Adrien Sauvage to solve the dead-phone-battery problem with an unexpected new development: phone-charging pants.

The pants, pictured above between George Lamb (left) and Adrien Sauvage, were unveiled this week at London Collection: Men. Charging power comes from a Nokia DC-50 charging plate sewn into the pocket, which transfers electricity from the pants to the phone through an electromagnetic field. It sounds too simple to be true, but that’s just how inductive wireless charging technology works! Devastatingly obvious in a way that kinda makes you wish you’d thought of it first.

The pants will be available for pre-order on Amazon soon and, though a price has not yet been revealed, are expected to cost at least $340. Even more exciting than a designer pair of all-black phone-charging pants is the potential for expansion to everyday clothing: imagine sportswear, suit jackets, and purses/briefcases with charging plates in them - you’d never need to plug in again!

So there you have it, you can now charge your phone just by putting it in your pocket. The future is today.

Images from the @nokia_uk Twitter account!

June 18, 2014
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Giift: the Social Network for Gift Giving

As money fades out of the physical realm and into the digital one in the form of credit cards, gift cards and (more excitingly) bitcoins, it’s becoming increasingly tedious to keep track of where we keep it. Digital wallets are growing in popularity (check out Google Wallet for Android, Passbook for iOS, and Microsoft Wallet for Windows Phone 8.1), and with them comes a new age of people who will never have used cash and coin - hello, kids of today’s kids! Anyways, in all this hubbub about digital money, a new social network, Giift, has emerged not only to help you manage your own gift cards, but to let you give digital cash as gifts and earn rewards while doing so!

It’s quite a simple concept actually, and works very much like Facebook except with money. Once you’ve got your account set up and your friends added, there are three main options. 1. Load the information from your physical gift cards and personal accounts into your Giift account; 2. Sell and exchange your credits for rewards you want more; and 3. Share your deals and rewards with your friends, and send them points, miles and gift cards!

Then there’s the added bonus of a HUGE roster of participating programs that not only support the network, but that also offer special added bonuses. Plus, every time you add a friend you get 50 cents added to your account - that adds up fast!

What a cool idea, eh? I think it’s awesome that there’s now a social network dedicated to digital gifts. The only way this can go is up! The app is currently available for use on the web and through the Google Play store, and I’m sure it’ll be coming to iOS soon.

June 17, 2014
by thetrendytechie 1 Comment

Top Three: Tomorrow’s Tech Today!

There are so many new things dropping daily in the tech world that it’s hard to keep up with them all! Releases fade in and out of the news, and with announcements like those made at WWDC and E3 these past weeks, the ever-approaching tomorrow is more and more tantalizing every day. Here are a few of the new/upcoming releases I am most excited about! And yes, you bet I’m excited about Apple’s Swift, but here are some lower profile releases you may not have heard about yet.

#1 - Sunset Overdrive

I love the Xbox One for all its high-tech, futuristic features, but there are simply not enough good games for it! After blasting through Ryse: Son of Rome and Assassin’s Creed, it feels like I’ve exhausted the realm of excellent third-person story games available to Xbox One owners. That’s why I’m absolutely buzzing with excitement for the release of Sunset Overdrive, Insomniac Games’ upcoming high-powered, post-apocalyptic, beautiful game! Sunset Overdrive takes place in a technicolour future (I know, I sound like a 1950s housewife on acid when I say that - no really, click the link), overrun with mutant humans. Join a faction in this “awesomepocalypse”, pick up a crazy hybrid weapon that fires bowling balls or mini helicopters, and fight off the hordes of energy drink-mutated nasties that are equally as zany as the weapons!

So. Excited.

#2 - Nymi

On a scale of 1 to 10, how much to you hate forgetting passwords? The Nymi band by Toronto-based biotech startup Bionym will make it so you never forget a password or even have to type one in again, by having your devices recognize you by your heartbeat. Like a fingerprint, everyone has a unique heartbeat, or electrocardiogram. The Nymi reads this and wirelessly verifies your identity with your laptop (or phone, or car, or whatever else you sync it with), and unlock them/log you in before you’re even prompted to enter your password. Hello, seamless world! I don’t know about you, but I’d guess I spend a solid ten minutes a day waiting for things to sign me in. That’s not a lot of time, but in this fast-paced world, every chunk of time is golden. And it’s not only this application that gets me excited about the Nymi, but all the possibilities this unlocks! Imagine the applications in workspace simplification! The best part is, you can sign up to be a developer and get the SDK to develop apps for the Nymi! SO MUCH YES.

#3 - Mink Makeup Printer

Yes, you read that correctly. Mink combines colour pigments and 3D printing technology to let you create your makeup in exactly the shades you want it. Using the in-app colour picker, you choose a colour either from a colour wheel or anywhere on your screen, like from a makeup tutorial video, for example. Then you choose what you want to print, insert the correct container, and print it! Something tells me Sephora is going to buy this company out and install them in all their stores.

How cool are these?? I’m so excited for these releases. You can pre-order Sunset Overdrive and the Nymi now, and the Mink is still under wraps. Soon!

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Monthly Archives: June 2014