Borrowing design cues from Hyundai’s popular electric vehicle, the car maker’s new Kona 2024 bears a striking resemblance to a smaller, and hopefully cheaper, version of the Ioniq 5.

The compact SUV, which is also available as an electric vehicle (EV), features a full-width LED headlight strip running across its entire front end and an Ioniq 5-like indent on its side, giving the car a far more aggressive look than its minor 2021-2022 redesign. On the rear, a pixelated backlight runs across the back of the car, sticking with the futuristic look the front offers and borrowing even more from the Ioniq 5’s look.

Hyundai says that the new Kona is 4.25m in length, making it 150mm longer than the 2023 version of the car. The vehicle is also slightly wider at 25mm in width with a 60mm wheelbase and 19-inch wheels.

On the inside, similar to the Ioniq 5, the 2024 Kona also features 12-inch touchscreen displays and, at least in the EV version, ample interior space. A sportier version of the car in Hyundai’s N line is also on the way.

Given how popular the Ioniq 5 has been for Hyundai, it’s not surprising that its recognizable design language is trickling down to the company’s other vehicles.

It’s unclear how much Hyundai plans to charge for the 2024 Kona, but if it can hit a price point between the $33,395 the standard version of the car costs/$44,599 starting price of the EV and the $48,999 the Ioniq 5 costs, it could be a huge seller.

Image credit: Hyundai

Via: Car and Driver

Coffee Briefings are timely deliveries of the latest ITWC headlines, interviews, and podcasts. Today’s Coffee Briefing is delivered by IT World Canada’s editorial team!

Missed last week’s Coffee Briefing? We’ve got you covered.

What’s new this week

City of Kitchener partners with Microsoft to bring safer sidewalks for residents

 

Source: City of Kitchener

The City of Kitchener is collaborating with Microsoft to build applications, automations and reports using Power Platform in order to help the city manage work related to winter by-laws, including clearing snow and ice from city-owned facilities, ensuring residents clear their sidewalks within 24 hours of snowfall, and issuing snow removal notices.

For the bylaw officers, this new technology reduced the inspection process time, resulting in an increase in the number of inspections completed per day, as well as improved coordination with back-office operations, with images available for staff to see wherever they are. Additionally, notices, along with detailed information about bylaws for property owners are now generated in an app in real time. The city also noted that the development process was fast, stating that the team was able to engage in the process to test the new technology and incorporate feedback in real-time. 

Jon Amsden, manager of business solutions at City of Kitchener, said that there is opportunity to use Power Platform in other areas such as property maintenance, and for other municipal requirements like pet licensing.

Eurocom offers 20 per cent off on computer system to students and educational staff for Christmas

Source: Eurocom

Canadian computer developer Eurocom Corporation is offering students, recent graduates and faculty members 20 per cent off on any Eurocom computer system purchased between Dec. 10 and 31, 2022, as part of the company’s XMAS 2022 Edition of Educational Program.

“Eurocom is extremely pleased with the lives we’ve touched and the education we’ve improved through the Eurocom Education Program. Students can now receive the capable hardware they need for their studies with the Eurocom Education Program,” said Mark Bialic, Eurocom president.

The Eurocom Education Program applies to high school students, university or college students and graduates as well as educators. The discount applies to all new Eurocom laptops, supercomputers, workstations and servers purchased directly from Eurocom.

Microsoft launches new Communities feature on Teams

Source: Microsoft

Microsoft has launched a new Communities feature in Microsoft Teams for Consumers and Teams Essentials, enabling individuals and small businesses to connect, share ideas and collaborate with groups and teams.

Users can also post announcements for group members, organize community events, and share documents, as well as filter content to access images, videos, links, and events. Until now, Microsoft Teams for Consumers only allowed users to send chat messages, start video calls and share files/images with their friends and families.

“Whether your group is a recreational sports team, event planning committee, parent-teacher association, or even a small business, this new experience gives groups of all kinds a digital space to stay connected before, during, and after gatherings.” said Manik Gupta, corporate vice president for Microsoft Teams. “Communities is currently rolling out in the free version of Microsoft Teams.”

PropTech company partners with AIR MILES

Source: Ownly

E-commerce PropTech solution for home buyers Ownly is partnering with the AIR MILES Rewards Program to give consumers the chance to earn Reward Miles through each step of the home buying process.

Home buyers using Ownly who are also AIR MILES collectors can earn rewards by getting pre-qualified and completing the home-buying process online. Similarly, home builders can earn Miles by designing, building and selling their properties on Ownly.

“AIR MILES is a household name for Canadians. Its expansive roster of leading brands give the millions of collectors who participate in the program a variety of opportunities for consumers to turn everyday and milestone purchases from top retailers into incredible rewards,” said Jason Hardy, chief executive officer and co-founder of Ownly. “I’m thrilled to be part of that list.”

New York’s transit authority to use Hamilton-based AI startup to prevent buses from breaking down

Source: Preteckt

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the public benefit corporation responsible for New York’s public transit, has announced that it will leverage artificial intelligence from Hamilton, Ontario-based Preteckt to help detect operational anomalies and prevent buses from breaking down.

Preteckt flags anomalies by analyzing data such as temperature outside, how full the bus is, and how fast the bus is going. If a problem is detected, the bus would be sent to a depot and AI notifies crews of a specific repair plan.

The company tested its technology on 326 buses, which sent hundreds of millions of pieces of information from sensors to the company’s servers, where the data was then analyzed. About 50 buses were sent to depots with repair plans from Preteckt in the last six months, the company said. 

Preteckt’s founder Ken Sills said the technology prevents “progressive damage.” “Where you have a small issue that can be fixed fairly inexpensively with little amount of time, that, if you get ahead of, can prevent you from damaging a very expensive component,” he noted.

More to explore 

Sell-off of Avaya product lines a real possibility if Chapter 11 filing occurs, says analyst

News that Avaya Holdings Corp. could imminently file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection means that both channel partners and corporate clients are watching anxiously to see what will happen next.

New CEO and vice chairs appointed at the CRTC

Today, Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage, announced the appointment of Vicky Eatrides as chair and chief executive officer (CEO) and Alicia Barin and Adam Scott as vice-chairs of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

Canadian Government announces a hybrid work model for the Federal Public Service

Starting next year, Canadians working for the federal public service will have to spend at least two or three days per week in the office, Treasury Board president Mona Fortier announced Thursday.

Santa’s list for the IT Pro-ho-ho

Wondering what IT professionals have on their Christmas list? I asked for suggestions from a number of readers, and here’s what they’d love for Santa to bring them. I’ve selected the most popular items from their lists.

Zoho launches Blended Conversations and updated UI for Zoho Desk

Zoho Corporation has launched new tools for Zoho Desk, an anchor application in the company’s customer service platform.

Global government IT spending to exceed $580 billion in 2023: Gartner

In 2023, worldwide government spending will increase by 6.8 per cent over 2022, with a total budget of US$588.9 billion, Gartner Inc. predicts, as governments look to develop a cohesive total experience framework (TX) strategy in order improve delivery of services as well as citizen experience and engagement.

Global market for low code technologies expected to grow 20 per cent in 2023: Gartner

According to Gartner Inc., the worldwide market for low code development technologies is forecast to total US$26.9 billion in 2023, representing an increase of 19.6 per cent from 2022.

Ottawa-area IT firm says it has fully recovered from ransomware attack

An Ottawa-area IT services company says it has completely restored service to its customers after being hit by the Cuba ransomware strain last week. However, they lost a day’s worth of email and data.

Constellation Software and Lumine Group reach agreement to acquire WideOrbit

Toronto-based Constellation Software Inc. and its subsidiary, Lumine Group Inc., have entered into a binding agreement and plan of merger with WideOrbit Inc., a U.S.-based media vertical market software provider. Lumine Group is an acquirer of communications and media software businesses.

Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Trending

Listen to the latest episode of Cyber Security Today

Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Tendances (Hosted by Direction Informatique)

If you live in Quebec, or prefer to consume the latest technology news in French, our sister publication Direction Informatique has you covered. Follow them on Twitter as well.

The post Coffee briefing Dec 20, 2022- City of Kitchener partners with Microsoft, Eurocom gives 20 per cent off; New Communities feature on MS Teams; and more first appeared on IT World Canada.

Elon Musk has served as Twitter’s CEO, or Chief Twit, since he bought the company in October. But now, Musk is reportedly looking for his replacement, unnamed sources tell CNBC.

The publication states the search began before Musk posted a poll on Sunday, asking users if he should step down as CEO. The poll received 17.5 million votes, with 57.5 percent of respondents answering “yes.” 

While Musk promised to “abide by the results of this poll,” he has a history of not following through on tweets. Following the results, Musk, in true fashion, said he’ll restrict who can vote in polls. 

It’s unclear what requirements candidates need to successfully receive a shot to be Twitter’s CEO.

Image credit: Shuttertstock 

Source: CNBC

Google Play Pass released in 2019 as a membership service that gives subscribers access to numerous Android games and applications. It costs $5.99/month and is a direct competitor to Apple’s Apple Arcade, which also costs $5.99/month in Canada.

Android users can currently get a 90 percent off promotion on Play Pass, and subscribe to the service for just $0.68/month for three months, as shared by RedFlagDeals user ‘izarzuela.’

To claim the offer, open the Google Play app on your Android smartphone and tap of “Shop the hottest deals of the year on Play.” Scroll down and you should see a “90% off play pass” limited-time offer.

In total, you’ll be able to enjoy four months of service for essentially nothing. You’ll get the first month of service under a free trial, while the following three months would only cost you $2.04 ($0.68 per month). Following the three months, the subscription cost would go back up to $5.99/mo ($6.77/mo after tax).

The promotion ends on January 3rd.

Image credit: RedFlagDeals user ‘izarzuela’

Source: RedFlagDeals user ‘izarzuela’

After Twitter CEO Elon Musk lost a poll asking if he should step down as head of the company, he says the rules determining who can vote in Twitter polls in the future will change.

Twitter user ‘Unfiltered☢️Boss’ suggested Musk lock polls so that only Blue subscribers can vote in “policy related polls,” writing that subscribers “actually have skin in the game.” While I don’t think paying a monthly subscription fee to use a social network run (poorly) by the world’s formerly richest man counts as having “skin in the game,” Musk appears to agree with the idea of restricting voting to paying users. In response to Unfiltered☢️Boss, Musk tweeted, “Good point. Twitter will make that change.”

Of course, it’s worth keeping in mind what kicked all this off: Musk having a public tantrum and banning several journalists who had been critical of Musk, as well as rival platforms. As a quick refresher, last week Musk alleged a stalker used information from the ElonJet account run by Jack Sweeney to follow a car carrying Musk’s child. The ElonJet account used publicly available information to share details about the flights of Musk’s private jet.

However, despite the dubious (at best) link between the stalker incident and Sweeney’s account, Twitter introduced a new policy prohibiting the sharing of real-time information, banned ElonJet and Sweeney, then started banning journalists who covered the story and accounts that tweeted links to Sweeney’s ElonJet accounts on other social media platforms. That included Mastodon, the much-hyped possible Twitter replacement. Twitter also introduced a policy prohibiting linking to other social media platforms.

Following outcry, Twitter rolled back the policies, Musk apologized, and he promised there would be a vote for major policy changes in the future. Musk then started a poll asking if he should step down as head of Twitter, with 57.5 percent of the over 17.5 million votes being in favour of Musk stepping down. Although apparently, the vote may not have mattered — reports indicate Musk started hunting for a new CEO before posting the poll.

Twitter relaunched its Blue subscription on December 12th at a higher cost of $10/mo for Canadians who subscribe through the Twitter website and $15/mo for those who subscribe through the App Store on iOS. Currently, the Twitter Blue subscription doesn’t offer much beyond adding a blue checkmark to subscribed accounts and the promise of future features like reduced ads, priority in replies, and more. Further, despite positioning the new Blue subscription as verifying users with their phone number, Twitter’s about page for Blue notes that Twitter won’t review accounts to ensure they’re authentic.

You can follow along with the latest insanity from Musk’s Twitter here.

Source: @elonmusk

Have you ever wondered why certain videos pop up on your For You page (FYP) as you endlessly scroll through TikTok?

According to a recent blog post the company shared, a new tool will provide the exact details.

Here’s how to access it:

Tap on the share panel while in your For You feed
Tap the question mark labelled “why this video” to reveal why the video came up on your page

Getting into the specifics, what you see comes down to rankings based on your activity, which measures a bunch of factors, including how much time you spend on the app, user interaction, and popular content in your region.

“This feature is one of many ways we’re working to bring meaningful transparency to the people who use our platform, and builds on a number of steps we’ve taken towards that goal,” the company said in the blog post.

TikTok says it will roll out the feature “over the coming weeks” but didn’t provide specifics. It’s the latest development coming from the social media company, which recently announced it’s testing horizontal full-screen mode.

Source: TikTok

It looks like Google could switch the primary camera in its next flagships, likely called the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro.

While still months away, we’ve gotten a glimpse of some camera details thanks to developer and leaker Kuba Wojciechowski. Wojciechowski claims to have obtained an “unobfuscated version” of the Google Camera Go app, which shares resources with the regular Google Camera app available on Pixel phones. In the Camera Go app’s code, Wojciechowski found references to ‘Shiba’ and ‘Husky,’ which are likely the codenames for the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, respectively (Shiba and Husky turned up in a previous leak with details about the RAM and screen resolutions of the devices).

Long story short, courtesy of Google we got a clean, unobfuscated version of Google Camera Go, that includes references that seemingly confirm that flagship Pixels in 2023 – Husky and Shiba – will support staggered HDR. pic.twitter.com/YdaWTlGznN

— kamila 🌸🏳️‍⚧️ (@Za_Raczke) December 19, 2022

The references Wojciechowski found mention that Shiba and Husky support ‘staggered HDR,’ a different approach to HDR than what Pixel phones currently use. When you take a picture on a Pixel phone, the camera captures long and short exposures in quick succession, then stitches together the different exposures to create the final image. Staggered HDR, on the other hand, captures the long and short exposure at the same time, reducing the time taken to capture the image and, by extension, reducing the likelihood of ghosting or strobe effect caused when the phone can’t match the two exposures together.

The thing is, the camera sensor Google used in the primary camera for the Pixel 7 series and Pixel 6 series — the 50-megapixel Samsung GN1 — doesn’t support staggered HDR at a hardware level. That means if the code snippet is accurate, the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro will need a different camera sensor to support staggered HDR. Android Police points to Samsung’s GN2 sensor, noting it’s similar to the GN1 but offers staggered HDR support.

Aside from a change to the sensor, this would mark a larger shift for Google. The company previously stuck with the same camera hardware over multiple iterations of its phones, focusing on machine learning and software instead of hardware upgrades. For example, the camera sensor introduced with the Pixel 3 stuck around until Google switched to the GN1 with the Pixel 6.

Ultimately, it’ll be interesting to see what comes of the GN2 switch, if anything. We’re still really early in the rumour cycle for the Pixel 8 series, which likely won’t come out until the fall of 2023. A lot can change, so I wouldn’t bet on a new camera sensor just yet.

Source: @Za_Racze Via: Android Police

Ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the new year, Lenovo has rolled out a ton of product announcements. The announcements include no less than six (six!) laptops, a desktop, a tablet, and a few monitors. And we’re likely to get more announcements from Lenovo related to CES come January.

Since we’ve got so many products to go over, let’s just dive in.

Laptops

First up, we’ve got the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5/5i, IdeaPad Slim 5/5i, and IdeaPad Flex 3i Chromebook. The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5 and 5i (pictured in the header image) come in 14- and 16-inch sizes in either ‘Artic Grey’ or ‘Frost Blue.’ Unfortunately, only the 16-inch Pro 5i will be available in North America. It offers “up to the latest Intel Processor” and “up to an Nvidia GeForce Next-Gen Laptop,” although Lenovo didn’t specify which CPUs and GPUs would actually be available.

Other IdeaPad Pro 5i features include a 25 percent larger touchpad, expandable SSD storage, up to 120Hz refresh rate, and a QHD+ resolution. The IdeaPad Pro 5i that will be available in North America will start at $1,499.99 USD (roughly $2,049.08 CAD) and will be available starting in May 2023.

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i

There’s also the IdeaPad Slim 5 and 5i Gen 8 in 14- and 16-inch variants (only the 16-inch models will be available in North America). The IdeaPad Slim’s OLED display offers up to a 2.5k resolution with 400 nits of brightness. Moreover, the Slim 5i sports up to the latest Intel Core processor, while the Slim 5 offers upto the latest AMD Ryzen 7000 series CPUs. They come in three colours — ‘Violet,’ ‘Cloud Grey,’ and ‘Abyss Blue.’

The IdeaPad Slim 5i will start at $749.99 USD (about $1,024.53 CAD) and the Slim 5 will start at $649.99 USD (approximately $887.93 CAD). Both will be available in May 2023.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i

Finally, the IdeaPad Flex 3i Chromebook offers a 360-degree hinge for 2-in-1 use. Lenovo says the Flex 3i’s battery lasts up to 12 hours on a charge and it runs on the latest N-series Intel CPU. The Flex 3i will start at $349.99 USD (about $478.11) when it becomes available in May 2023.

Alongside the consumer laptops, Lenovo showed several ThinkPad laptops aimed more at businesses. There’s the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11, ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8, and ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3. The X1 laptops are built on Intel’s Evo platform and offer the latest generation of up to Intel Core i7 CPUs and up to 64GB of RAM. All three will be available in April 2023 starting at:

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 – $1,729 USD (about $2,361.92 CAD)
ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8 – $1,859 USD (roughly $2,539.51 CAD)
ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 – $1,649 USD (approximately $2,252.63 CAD)

Desktop and tablets

Lenovo IdeaCentre Mini 5i

The desktop unveiled by Lenovo is the IdeaCentre Mini 5i, a tiny, Mac mini-style PC. It sports a built-in power supply unit and a chassis that Lenovo says can be easily opened, allowing users to access the dual-vortex cooling fan and memory chip. It’s got the latest Intel Core CPU, two DDR4 memory chips, up to 1TB of SSD storage, Wi-Fi 6 support, and more.

The IdeaCentre Mini will start at $649.99 USD (roughly $887.93 CAD) and will be available starting Q2 2023.

Lenovo Tab M9

Lenovo also showed off its Tab M9 tablet running Android 12. Sporting a MediaTek Helio G80 Octa-Core CPU, 128GB of storage and a 9-inch ID display, the Tab M9 looks like a decent option for watching Netflix and playing games. It will cost $139.99 USD (about $191.23 CAD) and is expected to be available starting in Q2 2023.

Monitors

Lenovo’s P49w-30 is a one wide boy

Lenovo listed several monitors, but the only one really worth writing about was the wild ThinkVision P49w-30. It’s a 49-inch ultrawide display with up to 13 ports, two of which support Thunderbolt 4 with up to 100W of power delivery and that can be used to daisy chain other Thunderbolt 4 monitors (if you even have room for one after placing this behemoth on your desk).

Lenovo expects the P49w-30 to be available starting in June 2023 for $1,699.99 USD (about $2,322.29 CAD)

BBC Studios and ITV have revealed what content is coming to BritBox, a British programming-focused streaming service, in January.

BritBox, which costs $9.99/month (or $99.99 per year), offers access to series like Doctor Who, Emmerdale and Five by Five. In August, the service will add content like Pride and Prejudice, About A Boy, Mr. Bean’s Holiday and more.

Check out everything coming to the streaming platform next month below:

Vera: Season 7 (January 1st)
Seekers (January 6th)
Here We Go (January 10th)
Stonehouse (January 17th)
Vera: Season 12 (Sometime in January)

Apple has some great deals on discounted MacBook Air laptops and accessories through Amazon Canada. If you buy today it seems the massive online retailer can ship to you before the 25th.

Check out the deals below.

Apple Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad for $124 (save 17%)
Magic Keyboard – French for $94 (save 21%)
Magic Keyboard – US English for $94 (Save 21%)
Apple Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad for $124 (Save 17%)
Apple Magic Mouse (Wireless, Rechargable) for $79.99 (save 10%)
2020 Apple MacBook Air Laptop for $1,149 (Save 12%)
2020 Apple MacBook Air: Apple M1 Chip, 13″ Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage for $1,149 (save 12%)
2020 Apple MacBook Air: Apple M1 Chip, 13″ Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage for $1,149 (save 12%)
Silver 2020 Apple MacBook Air: Apple M1 Chip, 13” Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage for $1,149 (save 12%)
Gold 2020 Apple MacBook Air Laptop: Apple M1 Chip, 13″ Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage for $1,149 (save 12%)

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Source: Amazon Canada