Global News Morning Tech Tip – Managing Subscriptions
Free trials make it easy to start a subscription, but how do you avoid getting charged? My latest tech tip for Global News Morning explores how.
Take A Ride With Hall Of Fame Stuntman Shane Cardwell
After reading Richard Crouse’s excellent profile of legendary stunt performer Shane Cardwell in The Star I felt inspired to pull up the footage of the time Cardwell took me for a spin for Studio 12 News years ago and give it a fresh edit.
Global News Morning Tech Tip – Free Virus Scans
You’re not that worried, but you just want to check your computer and avoid paying a subscription. My Tech Tip for Global News Morning is on virus scanners that offer free scans.
Global News Morning Tech Tip – Caring For Earbuds
Keeping your earbuds clean and tangle-free is the goal of this week’s Tech Tip on Global News Morning.
Global News Morning Tech Tip – Wireless Adaptors
How to give traditional headphone jacks a wireless upgrade is this week’s Tech Tip for Global News Morning.
Latest Android Updates Plus A Google Mystery By Neil Patrick Harris
I detail new Android phone and OS updates coming this fall from Google on Global News Morning plus share a fun mystery puzzle game that uses Google created by actor Neil Patrick Harris.
Apple AirTag Review – Meant To Be Found, Not Tracked.
Apple’s AirTag is a handy device because it can be used to locate items that are both lost or misplaced. You can see its current location on a map using the same Find My system for lost iPhones, which is handy if you left it in the back seat of a taxi, but if it... Read More
Global News Morning Tech Tip – Smart Speaker Privacy
A worrying domestic abuse trend, my latest tech tip on Global News Morning is about controlling smart speakers from tracking your activities.
May The 4th Star Wars Collectibles Special
With LucasFilm’s 50th Anniversay, this year’s May The Fourth Be With You Star Wars fan holiday sees an impressive release of collectibles that I explore on Global News Morning.
Global News Morning Tech Tip – Mobile Magnifier
Did you know that your phone is also a magnifying glass? In my latest Tech Tip for Global News Morning I’ll show you how to use the useful trick.
Hear Me Chat Wild Curiosity With Aaron & Natasha
Have a listen to Aaron & Natasha as they ask me about my new audio book Wild Curiosity.
Apple’s First Event Of 2021 Unveils New Product Category
Discussing Apple’s first launches of the year on Global News Morning, I look at their new tracking system for lost items, a welcome return to candy-coloured iMacs, and the surprise update to the iPad Pro.
Wild Curiosity
With a Stay-At-Home order in effect during this pandemic, I’m offering up the audiobook of Wild Curiosity, my collection of true life stories about wild animal encounters to help keep you entertained and sane. I’m starting with the introduction and first chapter and will be adding more chapters as the days pass by. Have you... Read More
Global News Morning Tech Tip – Cable Management
Stationary fans rejoice! My latest tech tip for Global News Morning is about label makers.
Hi-Tech LEGO, Robots, & LED Owls
I’ve had a blast building and making tech projects the last couple of months and am thrilled to share them with you on Global News Morning. For more info check out Nanoleaf and ClicBot. The extra videos below include more robots I’ve built with the ClicBot kit and, wanting the Player Piano from the TV... Read More
Global News Morning Tech Tip – Smart Humidifiers
This week my tech tip on Global News Morning is about smart humidifiers and the need to be careful about using them near your electronics.
The Medium Review – 5 Stars
In most games the ending is merely a sequence to signify that the game is over. In The Medium the ending is the most important part with every moment you experience carefully crafted to get you to it because that’s where the payoff is waiting and wow, is it a good one. This is surprising... Read More
Global News Morning Tech Tip – Reverse Image Search
You can share fun photos responsibly with a reverse image search. Here’s how, my latest tip on Global News Morning.
Global News Tech Tip – Password Managers
This week on Global News Morning I offer an easy way to use long, complicated passwords.
Global News Tech Tip – COVID Alert
A new feature we’ve started at Global News Morning kicks off with my focus on changes that have been made to the COVID Alert app by Health Canada.
Hottest Tech At CES 2021
From smart fridges to handy robots to ultrawide screens, we take a look at the hottest tech at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure – 4 Stars
There’s a surprising bit of realism to this storybook adventure about an adorable little girl who visits her grandparents for her summer vacation. They give Alba a smartphone with an app she can use to scan and identify the wildlife that lives in the parks and marshlands about the village. This proves to be as... Read More
A Story For Christmas Under Lockdown
My gift to you this Christmas is a short story about kids, toys, and tough times. It has long been a tradition to share tales like A Christmas Carol that speak to hardship and remind us of how things do get better, so I offer you this tale that I hope you’ll enjoy. You can... Read More
Immortals: Fenyx Rising Review – 4 Stars
Fenyx Rising uses the kind of humour you find in old books that’s always struck me as being written by people who have no one to tell their jokes to. The game uses Greek Mythology and makes an effort to be true while inventive with the legends which I suspect is behind the awkward narration... Read More
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Review – 4 1/2 Stars
This is the first game I’ve played to get right the way a super hero’s life is constantly pulled in many directions at once, between the urgent threats of villainous schemes and being there for family, between balancing work or school and the cries of people being victimized on the streets, between the plan that... Read More
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Review – 4 Stars
Have you grown weary of Assassin’s Creed? This is the twelfth game in the series and so it’s understandable if you’re sick of hearing about the franchise even if, like myself, you loved the first ones. Vikings, thankfully, change everything. Eivor is a confrontational warrior who prefers to bury an axe in someone’s head than... Read More
Pikmin 3 Deluxe Review – 3 Stars
This time there are three astronauts stranded on an uncharted planet who must command seed-like aliens to help them survive. Once again it’s a puzzle of problem-solving built around multi-tasking. Every day you must gather the right mix of helpers to overcome obstacles between you and the food and fuel needed to keep you alive... Read More
Review – Google Nest Thermostat
The Google Home app uses a step-by-step process to guide you through the installation of the Nest Thermostat and there’s a point where an animation suggests, for safety reasons, to shut down the main power before taking the next step. Just shutting down power to your heat & air conditioning should be fine, but I... Read More
Review – PlayStation 5 Console Edition
Imagine just the body of an electric guitar. The PS5 is the same size, thickness and with it’s aerospace-like white shells, has the kind of sculpted presence you get from a musical instrument. It’s certainly the largest game system I’ve used, but thankfully is lighter and easier to shift and move about than it looks.... Read More
Highlights From My First Year On Global News Morning
To celebrate my first year of tech reports on Global News Morning, here’s a montage of fun moments. Thank-you so much for watching.
A New Generation Of Mac, PlayStation, And Xbox Systems
It’s a week of launches on Global News Morning with Apple’s silicon giving us a new generation of Macs and both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X igniting a new world of video games.
Review – Xbox Series X
Every new generation of hardware makes the claim of being faster, more responsive, but the Xbox Series X actually lives up to it. It boots up faster, launches apps quicker, loads you back into a game immediately thanks to a new feature called Quick Resume, and the controller now wakes up right away so you... Read More
Review: LEGO Art Portraits & Mario Kart Open Circuit
<br><br>Health + iPhone Health Records – Free<br><br>Starting with three Canadian hospitals you can download your medical records into the iPhone’s Health app which then organizes them in with the health data generated by your fitness devices and apps. Allergies, conditions, immunizations, lab results, medications, procedures, and vitals can finally be kept in one place. <br><br>Osirix HD... Read More
Watch Dogs: Legion Review – 3 Stars
Legion feels more like a Grand Theft Auto spinoff than a Watch Dogs sequel. You spawn into a hyper-active city and walk for blocks to steal a car and get to a meeting to trigger a short mission in an effort to rise in the ranks of a criminal organization. It could be called Elite... Read More
Review – iPhone 12 & iPhone 12 Pro
The iPhone 12 carries forward the design influences from Leica cameras first introduced with the iPhone 4. It has the same flat back, thin profile, and aluminum frame yet manages to squeeze a larger 6.1” screen into a slim body ideal for sliding into side pockets or purse compartments. The iPhone 4 was a personal... Read More
Review – Google Nest Audio Smart Speaker
There is a physical switch on the back of the Nest Audio speaker that, for now, you won’t find on any other smart speaker. It turns off the microphone used by Google Assistant, meaning that it can’t listen in on your life or respond to any commands. This is essential if you’re about to have... Read More
Review – Apple’s 8th Generation iPad
The first thing that caught my eye with the 8th generation iPad was Apple’s marketing that it could “grab files from anywhere (even one of these)” referring to a USB drive. I’ve tried connecting a range of different USB drives using an Apple adapter and half of them worked, but the rest gave the error... Read More
Super Mario 3D All-Stars Review – 4 Stars
A collection that refreshes three Super Mario adventures, Super Mario 3D All Stars also includes the soundtracks for all three games, just as you’d find them if bought on CD or iTunes. We use snippets of Mario’s themes on our weekly Tech Corner radio report on CJAD, so it’s a delight to explore the music... Read More
Review: First Gadgets To Use Artificial Intelligence
As Apple releases new devices powered by Machine Learning, I review the first set of consumer devices on sale in Canada that use Artificial Intelligence. Oral B iO Series 7 Toothbrush – $350 This artificially intelligent toothbrush senses the way it’s stuck in your mouth, using vibrating bristles to “feel” the surface of your teeth... Read More
Scott Pilgrim Interview With Edgar Wright, Ellen Wong & Bryan Lee O’Malley
It’s the tenth anniversary today of the release of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World in theatres so to celebrate I’m posting my conversation with director Edgar Wright, creator Bryan Lee O’Malley, and star Ellen Wong who played Knives Chau. Enjoy. Kris – There’s a big difference between watching a movie in a theatre and sitting... Read More