Canada’s first self-driving car tests hit Ontario roads

Ontario ambitiously greenlit autonomous driving tests back in January, but nobody wanted to take the city up on its offer. This was likely due to its proximity to Michigan, where American car companies can test similar conditions without having to leave the country. But today brings good news for Canada: three groups are finally deploying the first self-driving cars in the country to Ontario’s streets.

The pilot project involves three cars developed by the University of Waterloo, the automaker Erwin Hymer Group and Blackberry QNX. Each will test their own vehicle: a Lincoln MKZ hybrid sedan (nicknamed “Autonomoose”), a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Van, and a 2017 Lincoln running Blackberry software, respectively.

The project will test the vehicles at various stages of automation in the varying weather and road qualities found in Canada’s most populated province. As expected, the cars will be stuffed to the gills with visual sensors, radar and sonar to monitor these conditions. While the regulatory framework Ontario established at the beginning of 2016 requires a licensed driver in the car at all times, there’s no restriction on where the vehicles can go.

Source: CBC

Apple’s LG UltraFine 5K Display Now Available for Purchase for $974

Apple today started accepting orders for the LG UltraFine 5K Display, making it available for the temporary sale price of $974 in the United States. Orders will ship out to customers in six to eight weeks, and there is no in-store availability at this time.

The LG UltraFine 5K Display was first introduced at Apple’s October 27 Mac event alongside a matching 4K Display, but until today, the 5K Display has been available for purchase, with Apple listing a vague availability date of “December.”

At the beginning of November, Apple dropped the prices on all USB-C adapters and accessories, including the LG UltraFine displays, by 25 percent through the end of the year.

Because the 5K UltraFine Display was not yet available for purchase, some worried that it would not be able to be bought for the sale price, but customers who make a purchase before the end of 2016 will be able to get the display for $974 instead of $1,299.

The LG 5K UltraFine Displays was created in partnership with Apple for the new MacBook Pro. The display connects to the MacBook Pro over Thunderbolt 3 and include features like built-in USB-C ports for charging, stereo speakers, P3 wide color gamut support, a camera, and a microphone.

Related Roundup: Displays
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Best Home Automation Gifts: How to get started with these essential gadgets

Gift someone into home automation this year.

Most folks don’t realize how much better life is with home automation tech at their fingertips. All the time, even in the comments here, you see folks talk about how silly it is that there’s an app to control lightbulbs or thermostats when you can just walk up and touch the thing. It’s not like that’s hard, and it only takes a few seconds, right? Meanwhile, those of us who know better see these people running to check the thermostat once an hour when there’s 20 people in the house and they’re trying to get Thanksgiving dinner on the table, with three different lightbulbs at three different color temperatures in the same room.

Save these people from themselves with the gift of home automation this year. Here’s a good place to get started!

Philips Hue Starter Kit

Most folks don’t know this, but the best way to get someone interested in home automation is with smart lighting. These smart LED bulbs are expensive when compared to what they’ll find on the shelf at the hardware store, but show off what these bulbs are capable of and you’ll have an instant fan ready to fill out the whole house in the perfect lighting. Color temperature control and bulb scheduling is a great way to save power, set a mood, and even adjust your frame of mind. Plus, making your whole house glow red is occasionally hilarious.

Philips Hue bulbs are the best place to start, and you can choose between the shades of white Lux bulbs or the full color Hue bulbs depending on how much fun the person you’re buying for is.

See on Amazon

Nest Thermostat

Adjusting your thermostat is one of those things that generally seems like no big deal. You walk up and twist the knob when you’re warm or cold, and don’t think about that little bump on your wall again for a while. It’s simple, straightforward, and arguably one of the most inefficient gadgets in your home. Regular thermostats don’t adjust for increased or decreased airflow based on whether there are people moving in the house, or if there’s someone at home at all. There’s no tech in your average thermostat to monitor how much energy you’re consuming or if it’s being consumed efficiently. Nest not only saves you more than you’re likely to spend on it over the lifetime of the thermostat, it’s smart enough that you eventually stop needing to check on it at all.

This is a great gift for people who want their house to be a little smarter and a lot more efficient, and it’s the kind of thing no one really thinks about until something like Nest has been installed and is improving their lives.

See on Amazon

Google Home

Getting someone started with Home Automation can be as simple as showing them how much easier things are when you don’t need to constantly adjust manually, or as silly as shouting shut up at a little speaker sitting on you shelf in order to get it to stop playing music. Google Home does a whole lot more than play music, especially after you’ve taken the time to set it up and learned all of its tricks, but automating your music can be a powerful experience all on its own.

This particular connected home gadget has a lot of growing to do, but you can do a lot to work with that experience as you show your friend how much fun this little speaker can be!

See on Amazon

Amazon Echo Dot

If you’re not looking to spend quite so much but still want to see someone you know grow into a connected home, start them off with the Echo Dot from Amazon. The Alexa service takes some getting used to, and doesn’t connect to Google’s services quite as well as Google Home, but this is a powerful little assistant that can become a center point in any connected home.

Amazon’s Echo Dot comes in glossy white or black, and can be connected to any larger speaker to become a more capable music player as well. This is a great starting point for just about anyone!

See on Amazon

Your turn

What are your favorite home automation gifts? Let us know in the comments below!

The great Virtual Reality buyer’s guide

Pick the Virtual Reality system that suits your needs. .intro

Virtual Reality is a category with several incredible products, all mostly aimed at different kinds of users. It’s easy to see these headsets as competing for your attention — and your wallet, of course — but that’s not the case most of the time. Right now VR is all about exploration, and that starts wherever you as the user decides it starts. All you really need to know is what kind of VR experience you want to have first, and from there you can decide which headset you want to buy to fill that need.

This, the Virtual Reality Buyer’s Guide, is the start of an ongoing project at VRHeads. Linked below is a quick look at what makes these headsets special, and where to look if you want to know more!

Read more at VR Heads!

Sony’s Xperia X Compact is $100 off for Cyber Monday!

The smallest phone gets the biggest discount.

Everyone is getting together for a day of deals, which is to be expected after several other days of deals. Sony’s Cyber Monday offerings have launched, and if you’re looking at an[Xperia phone as your next there are a couple of compelling offers available. Here’s what Sony has to offer!

• Xperia X Compact in all colors — $399 ($100 off)
• Xperia XZ in Platinum — $599 ($50.02 off)
• Xperia X in Lime Gold — $299 ($100 off)

Sony’s phones have earned a bit of praise this year for delivering decent cameras and the great battery capacity that used to be considered standard. The Xperia X Compact, which is by far the best deal available on Sony’s Cyber Monday deals, is a much more reasonably priced option at this lowered cost. Despite the 720p display and lack of a fingerprint sensor, Sony’s phones have a history of both quality performance and a unique setup for unlocking and rooting if you’re interested in a more technical adventure.

You can check out any of the links above to order immediately, or head to Amazon and see all of Sony’s offerings!

See at Amazon

Don’t miss out on these deals on Galaxy S7 cases by Ringke

Get these Ringke cases for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge.

Ringke is offering some decent discounts on cases for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. We’ve broken things down so it’s easy for you to choose between the four different case styles offered and then pick your preferred color.

Because this is a limited quantity sale, the promo code will expire once the limited quantity has sold out. To make sure the promo code applies properly, make sure you select the option to have Ringke fulfil your shipment when going through checkout. It’s the only way to get the promotional codes to work, and also get free shipping.

Galaxy S7

Fusion

• Fusion – Drop Protection TPU Bumper Clear Back Case : Clear — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG
• Fusion – Drop Protection TPU Bumper Clear Back Case : Smoke Black
  — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG
• Fusion – Drop Protection TPU Bumper Clear Back Case : Rose Gold
  — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG

Slim

• Slim – Ultimate Thin & Light Hard Case : Royal Gold — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG
• Slim – Ultimate Thin & Light Hard Case : Frost White — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG
• Slim – Ultimate Thin & Light Hard Case : Frost Mint — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG

Air

• Air – Extreme Lightweight & Thin Transparent Case : Clear — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG
• Air – Extreme Lightweight & Thin Transparent Case : Smoke Black — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG
• Air – Extreme Lightweight & Thin Transparent Case : Rose Gold — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG

Onyx

• Onyx – Resilient Strength & TPU Defensive Case: Black — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG

Galaxy S7 Edge Case

Fusion

• Fusion – Drop Protection TPU Bumper Clear Back Case : Clear — $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S
• Fusion – Drop Protection TPU Bumper Clear Back Case : Smoke Black
  — $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S
• Fusion – Drop Protection TPU Bumper Clear Back Case : Rose Gold
  — $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S

Slim

• Slim – Ultimate Thin & Light Hard Case : Black — $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S
• Slim – Ultimate Thin & Light Hard Case : Royal Gold — $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S
• Slim – Ultimate Thin & Light Hard Case : Frost White — $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S

Air

• Air – Extreme Lightweight & Thin Transparent Case : Clear — $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S
• Air – Extreme Lightweight & Thin Transparent Case : Rose Gold — $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S

Onyx

• Onyx – Resilient Strength & TPU Defensive Case: Black — $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S

These people want your phone to make your bed for you

File this under “too weird to not share.”

We talk a fair bit about home automation here, and a lot of that is because your phone is rapidly becoming the hub that controls your home. That’s cool for folks who enjoy having their phone nearby 24/7/365, with Google Home filling the gap for nearly everyone else. Whether it’s a spoken word, a scheduled command, or the flick of an app to run your home, eventually someone will ask how far is too far with home automation.

It turns out we don’t know where that line is, because there now exists a company that wants your phone to make your bed.

This idea is clever enough, using an inflatable grid to put your duvet back when you’re out of bed. It’s not the kind of thing that will work for everyone, especially if you need to keep the air tube connected to the pump mounted under your bed to make all of this work like the video shows, but it’s clever. This also isn’t exactly “making” your bed, especially if you have a blanket under your duvet (like any civilized person). But the thing that makes this special is the phone app, which lets you either schedule a time for this to work every day or a button for quickly making the bed in case you have company meeting you at home one night.

It’s weird, and certainly not for everyone, but this is the kind of thing that makes you wonder just how much of your home you’re going to want to automate as you continue to install new tech.

See on Kickstarter

AT&T has three new streaming video packages coming that are designed for the cord cutter

Something Direct this way comes.

AT&T has three new streaming services on the way that will let you stream content without having any TV subscriptions or set-top equipment. The new DirecTV Now, FreeVIEW and Fullscreen packages offer network TV as well as cable channels, plus made-for-digital content that you can stream from your computer, phone, tablet or smart TV anytime you like as often as you like.

Think of these services as digital cable TV that doesn’t need a dedicated box and you’ll have the right idea of what they are. You pay a monthly bill just like you would with AT&T’s DirecTV service or any other cable TV package but you can stream it through a web browser or an app. The DirecTV Now service offers channels from the DirecTV Satellite service AT&T offers today through a cable box and the pricing isn’t terrible.

• Live a Little – $35 / month (60+ channels)
• Just Right – $50 / month (80+ channels)
• Go Big – $60 / month (100+ channels)
• Gotta Have it – $70 / month (120+ channels)

You can also add HBO or Cinemax to any package for $5 each per month.

Fullscreen is AT&T’s curated lineup of digital TV programming and video. You can already check it out for $5.99 per month, but starting November 30 folks with AT&T phone service can have access to Fullscreen for a year at no charge.

Both the Fullscreen service and DirecTV Now will work with Android phones and tablets as well as Chromecast devices at launch. AT&T is also letting their customers stream these services without using any of their cellular data if streamed through the dedicated app(s).

FreeVIEW is a new 100% free service that brings curated content from AT&T media properties. You can stream FreeVIEW content at no charge through the DirecTV app or on the web at http://www.directvnow.com/ starting November 30.

You can read about the finer details and offerings at AT&T’s press page.

Instagram now notifies you if someone takes a screenshot

Instagram has taken another page from Snapchat’s playbook.

When you receive a snap (photo or video message) or watch someone’s story (a 24-hour reel of broadcasted snaps) in Snapchat, and then take a screenshot of that snap or story, the person who sent the snap or posted the story will receive an alert that you took a screenshot. 

Now Instagram is doing the same thing, but it’s not exactly clear why. 

The app will now alert users when someone has taken a screenshot of a photo or video that’s part of an Instagram story. Remember, Instagram Stories is Instagram’s version of Snapchat’s Stories. Videos, photos, and Boomerangs can be added to Instagram Stories, and they will disappear after 24 hours, just like snaps do in Snapchat’s Stories feature. 

• What’s the point of Snapchat?

So, if you’re months-deep into someone’s IG grid and screenshot a gram of his or her selfie, they won’t know. But if you screenshot a person’s story on Instagram, he or she will know. Instagram has quietly rolled out this feature without any explanation, and it’s a little perplexing. You see, Snapchat alerts you of screenshots because it essentially wants to keep the app ephemeral in nature.

INSTAGRAM GOT SCREENSHOT NOTIFICATIONS NOW pic.twitter.com/Hlng1F4uKH

— anna (@nutellaANDpizza) November 24, 2016

Snapchatters may be hesitant to screenshot because of alerts, and so they will let snaps self-destruct instead. But now it seems Instagram – which has never been about letting users share ephemeral moments, but rather keep a visual, filter-heavy catalogue of their adventures over the years – also doesn’t want you capturing what was never meant to live beyond a 24-hour period. 

Or maybe it just wants to continue shamelessly copying Snapchat.