Amazon’s FireTV yet another set top box with compromises

By Simon Cohen

Amazon takes the proprietary route with its Fire TV set top box and gives consumers one more choice that won’t serve all of their needs.

I’ve always admired Amazon for their customer-centric view of the world. Their online shopping experience is second to none. Their customer service is superb. Their dedication to creating devices and services to meet the needs of their customers has always impressed me – especially given that the hardware space is so competitive (and littered with failures).

So I was really keen to find out what Amazon’s latest toy, the $99 Fire TV set-top box had to offer. Even though it isn't available to Canadians currently, the U.S. version is likely a very strong indicator of what we’ll get when it arrives.

Sadly, what we’ll get is a series of compromises.

Click to read more ...

Nokia MixRadio reaches 30 millionth track milestone

Nokia's MixRadio streaming service just added the 30 millionth track, to its international catalogue. The track, ‘Ma Tegi Hena’ is by Lebanese artist Nancy Ajram and is from the forthcoming album Nancy8. The thirty million tracks available on Nokia MixRadio, puts it ahead of all other radio based streaming services.

Click to read more ...

TIFF Kids digiPlaySpace Interactive Playground exhibit preview

By Sonya Davidson

digiPlaySpace has recently opened its doors to the third annual technology play ground for kids and families. Located at the TIFF Bell LightBox building in Toronto, this award-winning interactive hands-on exhibition offers kids of all ages the opportunity to explore and create with some of the world’s leading developers and international artists. Installations are designed with the child user in mind and often unveiled for the first time in Canada.

Click to read more ...

Apple's WWDC 2014 kicks off on June 2, devs can apply for tickets starting today

Apple will hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) June 2 through June 6 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. Interested Mac and iOS developers can apply for tickets via the WWDC website (developer.apple.com/wwdc) now through Monday, April 7 at 10:00 a.m. PDT, and tickets will be issued to attendees through random selection.

At this year’s five-day conference, developers from around the world will learn about the future of iOS and OS X, giving them the latest tools and technologies to continue creating the most innovative apps for the millions of iOS and Mac customers worldwide. WWDC will feature more than 100 technical sessions, over 1,000 Apple engineers, hands-on labs to help developers integrate new technologies and fine tune their apps, as well as the Apple Design Awards which showcase the best apps from the past year.

Click to read more ...