An introduction to VR through the HTC Vive

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

I've long been a skeptic when it comes to Virtual Reality or VR. I've covered the technologies and evolution of virtual reality since the mid-90's when the idea was that the internet and VR could easily create a connected, immersive and interactive reality alongside reality itself.

But like many widely heralded buzz-worthy technologies, VR always felt like a hollow promise mired by compromise at every turn. It required expensive and enormous headsets, a ton of wires connected to a supercomputer, and the content was, for the most part, as low-rez and blocky as what one could get out of a PlayStation One console.  It is now 2016 and companies are flying high the VR flag again, what's different this time is that there are actual consumer products as well as content generated specifically for VR.

HTC invited me to try their HTC Vive VR headset in a Toronto hotel a few days ago and I brought a healthy dose of skepticism with me. Here's what I learned.

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R.I.S.K. program incorporates creative use of technology with kids

By Sonya Davidson

After more than 20 years of devising multi-disciplinary performance in Toronto, Theatre Gargantua, led by Artistic Director Jacquie Thomas and a team of local artists recently opened their stage to host a free creative theatre program that engaged underserved youth in the city. The hands-on all day workshop gave the kids the opportunity to explore and create original performance pieces in a contemporary way that embraces the use of technology.

R.I.S.K. (Resources Innovation Skills and Knowledge) Program began with in-school workshops at high schools across Toronto in which students develop original performance and text. They looked at their daily habits, such as constant texting, to uncover the characters, situations and dramas, and their natural creative writing skills.

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New study reveals Canadians are rapidly adopting smart home technology

 

By Sonya Davidson

Interesting findings have been revealed recently on how Canadians expect smart home technology to become commonplace in their homes within the next two years. The study conducted by MARU/VCR&C*, and commissioned by TELUS, found a significant gap between those that believe that smart home technology will benefit their lives (61%) and those who currently own a smart home device (34%). 

But that's about to change quickly! Of those 63% of people have reported that they will own at least one smart home device by 2018 - such as a smart TV, thermostat, lighting, appliance, entry and security system etc.. Half of them also reported they will own at least three or more. 

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Evernote for Android introduces new ways to scan and edit documents, plus other new features

Looking to make it easier for Android users to scan documents and upload it on Evernote. The app now lets you simply take a photo of said document. The app has two photo-capturing modes: automatic and manual. With automatic, it can detect the size of the document and allow you to edit it later. The images you take will be added to a gallery where you can pick which ones to keep. For manual, you can select the format in which you want to save your scans. Annotations have also been added to the Android app, you can mark up images directly in Evernote with things like arrows, shapes, stamps, and text. Images on the screen are now optimized for mobile, so you get a consistent look of your notes, no matter what device you’re using. There are also new formatting styles, including strikethrough, subscript, and superscript, as well as the ability to select multiple notes. The Trash can within the app can also now be emptied as well.

For Evernote Premium users, the in-app camera can now detect business cards and pull these information into a Business Card note that you can preview and edit before you save them. Premium users can also annotate PDF documents that are attached to notes.

Source: Evernote