‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ is about The Last Jedi

We no longer have to refer to the next Star Wars film as Episode VIII. It now gets its official title: Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It’s easy to think of who that can be. This latest installment, which is directed by Rian Johnson, picks up the story from The Force Awakens, when Rey (Daisy Ridley) was handing Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) his old lightsaber. From there, you can speculate that the story will revolve a lot around Luke. But we know nothing is quite what it seems in the Star Wars universe. For now, we get the title. Later this year, on December 15^th to be exact, we’ll be getting the movie. Are you excited?

Source: The Verge

Samsung has new eight-step process for testing batteries

Samsung is looking to avoid the mishap of the Galaxy Note7 by introducing a new testing process as well as forming a battery advisory board. The latter will be comprised by academics from the likes of Cambridge, Berkeley, and Stanford. The former will be implemented for all lithium ion batteries in Samsung products.

The first three steps—durability, visual inspection, and X-ray—as well as open circuit voltage tests are already being conducted on batteries but now Samsung says the testing has been “enhanced” and will be done more frequently. As you see above, the other tests include charge and discharge tests, tests of total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), disassembling tests, and accelerated usage tests. It’ll take some time for Samsung to win back the trusts of consumers but taking steps to make sure they do that is a step in the right direction.

Source: The Verge

Canadian Reviewer Weekly Roundup 1/15-1/21

Windows 10 to introduce a high-performance Game Mode

New Balance's RunIQ is a wearable created by runners for runners

Is there a foldable smartphone/tablet in Microsoft's future?

Jimmy Iovine: Apple Music will offer a pop cultural experience

KAYAK reveals top 10 trending destinations of the year

askPETMD app launches in Canada

The trailer for Injustice 2 is out

Roku updates mobile app for iOS and Android

Why it's important for parents to know about coding and how Swift Playgrounds makes it accessible for everyone

Google adds offline search capabilities to its Android app

Mastercard and Gates Foundation bring mobile banking to East African farmers via feature phones

TraveLog: Discovering Detroit's gems with the Buick Encore

GarageBand for iOS and Logic Pro X for macOS receive massive updates

First Android Wear 2.0 smartwatches from LG are set to debut on February 9

Online PR is on the rise

‘Super Mario Run’ is coming to Android this March

Nintendo Switch Preview Tour comes to Toronto on January 29th

Apple files US$1 billion lawsuit against Qualcomm

Netflix teases next season of ‘House of Cards’ moments before Trump’s inauguration

FLO and Nissan Canada team up to drive electric vehicle adoption in Canada

Toronto Zoo to host the first Skype virtual field trip with students in Port Alberni, B.C.

Qualcomm responds to Apple claims, says they are 'baseless'

PlayStation VR now has support for YouTube’s 360-degree videos

PlayStation VR now has support for YouTube’s 360-degree videos

While it’s been tested out last year with a few issues that needed to be resolved, it looks like the Sony PlayStation VR can now support 360-degree videos on YouTube. And you won’t be limited to watching the 2D versions of videos, there are even some 3D 360-degree videos. You can check out a list of that here in this Reddit thread. Bringing in access to more content is a boon for the PSVR and that is something this fledgling industry needs.

Source: Digital Trends