Review

With a cat who loves to sprint out the door and a dog in the learning phases of obedience training, I was definitely up to the task of testing out the Tractive GPS Pet Tracking Device. It’s a small, plastic tag that hangs on your cat or dogs collar and it lets you track them via the Tractive website or using an app on your smartphone.

I see a lot of laptops come through my door and many of them try to impress with fancy sculpted cases and LED lighting effects. Granted, looking hot does get some points upfront, but after trying out my third Eurocom laptop in the past few years —this time the Shark 2— I’ve really come to appreciate this manufacturer’s approach. While the Shark 2 doesn’t look cheap, it is understated compared to many laptops aimed at the gaming and graphics professional crowd. It’s also a solid performer with a good display, high quality sound, a powerful Intel Haswell CPU and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M graphics card for gaming.

Sometimes two products work together so well that they mesh into an extension of one another and become that much better than either is on its own. Each might be pretty cool, but together, they becomes something special. That’s the case with Samsung’s Galaxy S5 smartphone and its Galaxy Fit fitness band. I had a week to try out these Samsung flagship devices and came away impressed with how well the two combine into what’s currently one of the best experiences out there for someone with an active, connected lifestyle.

  With so much content available from such a variety of sources, more and more Canadians are looking at cutting their cable bills. One option to consider is taking advantage of TV stations that broadcast free over-the-air (OTA). I was able to test out the Homeworx HD Digital Converter Box combined with the Clearstream 4 Outdoor antenna and a Philips PVR and was surprised how many channels I was able to pick up in my little corner of the world. With this equipment it is a very economical and simple way to get a bunch of free OTA TV channels.

I recently took the time to visit Microsoft’s first ever Surface Café on Toronto’s Queen Street West. You can read about the session I attended where DC comic book artist (and the guy who currently draws Batman) Francis Manapul showed how Microsoft’s new tablet has become an integral part of his digital workflow. But I wasn’t just at the Surface Café for demonstrations and to see how the Surface Pro 3 went over with an audience largely comprised of creative professionals. This was my chance to get my hands on a Surface Pro 3 to see if it lives up to Microsoft’s claims of being the tablet that can replace your laptop. Here’s what I thought of it.  

It’s been a long couple of years since the release of UFC Undisputed 3. For UFC fans, this has basically been an eternity. In the last two years, the Flyweight division was announced, as was women’s bantamweight. These are two of the many new things you’ll see in EA’s first UFC title. Was it worth the wait?  Let’s check it out.

It was probably the most anticipated game of E3 2012, and then the most anticipated game of E3 2013. Finally, Watch Dogs is out for pretty well every major console (WiiU coming soon) and promises to be one of the most tense, nail biting thrill ride games in years, stepping you in the shoes of an anti-hero hacker. But was it worth the wait? Click below and find out for yourself.

A game about a small world of Miis who actually have personality. In fact, that personality is the driving force behind their Tomodachi Life. The sort of thing Animal Crossing fans will understand immediately, Tomodachi Life pits you against the daily needs of your own personal island and the Miis that inhabit it, and manages to win your heart in the process. 

In the sequel to 21 Jump Street, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are heading back to school looking for a new drug that is being distributed on campus. Yes, this sounds very similar to the first one.

Have you ever wondered what’s in those store bought popsicles? I’ll skip the secrets and just go ahead and tell you that besides water, the only other real ingredient is sugar. Not just one type of sugar either – the last box I picked up had both sugar syrup and corn syrup, not to mention other artificial ingredients to give them colour and flavour. That’s why the Zoku Quick Pop Maker is one small kitchen gadget I don’t want to be without this summer.