The Terminal, covering Toronto’s Technology and gaming industries and the leaders behind these organizations.
You probably know INCASE DESIGNS best for their successful MacBook Pro Neoprene Sleeves(covers), or their strong presence as one of the few third party companies that are allowed to sell in the Apple store.
Having always loved my Macbook Pro Sleeve I was excited to find out that INCASE CANADA has launched a webstore with some amazing accessories and products for the tech encumbered. Everything from cases for iPhone and iPad, backpacks for laptops, camera bags, and travel bags are available on the store, all with the beautiful design and functionality INCASE is known for.
Photo: Incase products for the technologically friendly
I made this collage of my favourite products I found on the new webstore. From top left: Pathway Folio case for MacBook Pro, Capsule Headphones, Terra Campus Backpack (also available in the exclusive Shepard Fairey OBEY Edition), Heathered Backpack for 17 inch Laptop from rear, Heathered Backpack for 17 inch laptop open, DSLR Pro Pack from rear, DSLR Pro Pack Open with Gear, Hardshell Roller upright closed, Hardshell Roller from side open.
To celebrate the launch of the new Canadian website, Incase Canada is offering an exclusive 20% discount to all of our readers valid from now till May 31, 2013.
The Terminal, covering Toronto’s Technology and gaming industries and the leaders behind these organizations.
A few weeks ago I took part in a Virtual version of the new Telus Learning Centres. The Telus Learning Centres are much like the Apple Workshops or the Genius Bar; trained professionals can train you on your device, as well as having the knowledge to troubleshoot any problems you may have.
The event I attended took place at the Telus building in downtown Toronto and featured several local bloggers in a live video training session on the new Blackberry Z10. The video was streamed live on Google+ Hangouts and then uploaded to YouTube. Here is the videos if you want to check it out.
As an organization that supports all the great things around Toronto we have been eagerly awaiting the release of the new Blackberry 10 operating system and the accompanying phones. It would be great to have a competitive cell phone maker right in our own backyard; providing jobs, a tech industry, and money for Canadians.
The Terminal, covering Toronto’s Technology and gaming industries and the leaders behind these organizations.
The third instalment of EA games horror third-person-shooter Dead Space came out earlier this month when Dead Space 3 was released. The game was made in California by Visceral Games, a company owned by EA. The game features the high quality of design, control, and horror that one can expect from any of the Dead Space games.
One of the best parts about the Dead Space series is the artwork that goes into the design and style of the game. All of the rooms, hallways, and exterieurs have to be designed by an artist before ever hitting the game designers.
Both the artistic director and the concept artist behind this game are actually from Toronto and I got a chance to chat with Patrick O’Keefe who was the concept artist behind Dead Space 2 and for Dead Space 3.
Photo: Peng – Dead Space 3 – Patrick O’Keefe
Explain to us what a Concept Artist does and what an art director does for a video game like Dead Space 3.
As a concept artist I actually get to wear a lot of different hats. Some days I can be designing environments for other artists to build, others days it can be lighting and mood studies for the lighting artists to build off of. Sometimes I will make textures, and other times it is very graphic design-heavy. The variety is what keeps it interesting. I work closely with the art director to help bring their vision to light. It’s a real creative collaboration in the beginning, but the art director’s responsibilities extend way past there. Their job is to create and guide the look and feel of the production – they will work with a variety of artists, game designers, and even the writers to ensure that the visual experience they want is achieved. My Art Director on Dead Space 3 was another Toronto native, Alex Muscat.
The Terminal, covering Toronto’s Technology and gaming industries and the leaders behind these organizations.
Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia has recently launched a new app that aims to make history exciting and accessible. Toronto In Time was released at the end of October and was made by 7th Floor Media at SFU, a Lifelong Learning educational web-development team. The app is the Toronto version of the already available Vancouver app that uncovers stories from the city, taking you visually from the present into the past.
Photo: Toronto In Time
The app allows one to get geo-targeted information about historically significant locations and landmarks and plan routes to visit them. Curated walking routes and location services make it effortless and fun to learn about Toronto’s past. The app is free and is available for both apple and android operating systems.
The Terminal, covering Toronto’s Technology and gaming industries and the leaders behind these organizations.
Like many, I have been eagerly awaiting any news about Research In Motion’s new Blackberry 10 operating system and new accompanying Blackberry 10 phones. The Canadian company, based in Waterloo(just outside Toronto), is releasing a new competitive product that will compete with the smartphone/app market as well as keeping true to some of its roots. So far only software has been shown to the press with more news about the hardware to be released on January 30, 2013. We got a sneak peek of the BlackBerry 10 software running on a Dev Alpha B (a developer testing unit) – not the final hardware. Here is a look at some of the features that we found interesting on the new BB10 operating system.
Blackberry Hub
The Blackberry Hub is the message centre that allows access to all forms of contact from BB Messenger to e-mail to texts. This area is always located to the left of the home screen by sliding your finger from left to right. If you have an app running you do not want to disrupt, you can hold down your finger on the screen and slowly move the running app to the side and ‘Peek’ over to your message centre(Blackberry Hub). The BB Hub is the centre of the device and stays true to the business market they are so strong in.
The Terminal, covering Toronto’s Technology and gaming industries and the leaders behind these organizations.
The Water Brothers QUENCH app is a great way to find a friendly location in the GTA to (re)fill your personal reusable water bottle (everyone has one these days, right?). This Toronto specific application was developed in partnership with BlueW, and sponsors Brita, TVO and the Bell New Media Fund.
Grouping participating retailers and restaurants into two categories the Quench app will point you to a refill station (R) or a easily accessible water fountain (F) which are then displayed in your general area. Finding the closes free source of water has never been easier. Keep an eye out for the Quench logo at nearby locations to verify official supporters of the free water program, but also note that additional suggested locations, often times crowd sourced, are also listed in the application – these locations indicate that another Quench user was able to get a refill at this location but they are not (yet) official supporters of the Quench program.
I’ve been using this application for about 2 months now, on my iPad, to successfully get free water refills all over the city, which has the benefit of preventing a number of $2 transactions to my checking account for water or other sugary drinks.
Photo: Incase products for the technologically friendly
Comments Off
