Samsung Galaxy S8 to launch without Bixby voice assistant feature

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

While touted as one of the big features of the new Samsung Galaxy S8 line, the Bixby voice assistant was sorely missing on the demo units handed out during the New York launch event, which means there was no way for us to test the assistant during the brief time we were given with the device.

It seems that Bixby voice is not ready for prime time and will not be included when the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ ship on April 21 in Canada. Other Bixby features, including Vision, Home, and Reminder will be on tap at launch date with Bixby Voice chiming in 'Later this Spring.' Voice assistants are tricky. Siri and even Cortana took a while to ship with their full feature set in Canada and this is also possibly the reason why Google Home isn't shipping its devices outside the US and UK. We'll be on standby to see what Samsung releases in a month's time.

We give this Netflix spring cleaning a "thumbs up!"

By Sonya Davidson

Spring always gives me the urge to clean up from all the squirrelling we did over the winter months and not just the boots and coats (please tell me it ain't gonna snow again?). Spring cleaning also means getting ourselves back on track and more organized. That whole living an uncluttered life mentality is not a trend --it's a health benefit. Not being overwhelmed helps us manage life better and it's trickled into our Netflix viewing. 

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Review: Linksys VELOP Whole Home Mesh Network

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Whole-home MESH networks, which provide a more robust and interconnected transmission of Wi-Fi signal across a larger space, are the biggest leap forward in Wi-Fi router technology we've seen in a long time. The Linksys VELOP whole home MESH network makes set-up and expansion easy while ensuring various devices get consistent network quality.

Unlike traditional Wi-Fi routers, which generate a signal that degrades the farther you are away from the hotspot, MESH networks allow multiple base stations to amplify the signal across a wider range of distance. With traditional routers, a multi-story house or apartment will have various dead-spots or areas where signal is inconsistent or drops. 

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Evernote releases Touch Bar specific functionality on MacBook Pros

The malleable Touch Bar feature on recent MacBook Pros is actually a new platform for app developers to extend the functionality of the app and push various features forward. 

Evernote has unveiled new functionality that allows easy creation of notes, quick access to search, tagging, access various colours, and give feedback.

"In some ways, the Touch Bar is a sleeker, more stylish take on the soft buttons seen on screen-based devices, like mobile phones and cash machines. In other ways, the Touch Bar is more like your favorite keyboard shortcuts that you won’t need to memorize," Evernote explains. Good to see developers making use of the feature.