Yes, I’m writing a preview of a demo of a game, but I’ve enjoyed my early taste of the much-anticipated Halo Wars so much that I can’t help myself. The free demo, a 1.4 GB file, will be made available for download through Xbox Live on February 5th and encompasses two missions from the game’s story and one skirmish where you can take on the computer in a straight-on battle. Except for a brief moment in the tutorials, you play only as the marines. There is no online multiplayer yet, although the menu system gives full access to the list of maps and modes for fans to pour over and study in anticipation. [More]

In case you haven't caught our promos, Super Bowl XLIII is airing this Sunday on CTV and for those of you who will be hunting online for the American Superbowl Ads, I'll be posting them here in order to help. Already we're starting to see some of the clips surface online and here's the first thirteen ads to go online. Update: More ads have appeared online in advance of the big game and I am continuing to add them to the list. [More]

If you play Rock Band or SingStar the way I do, then dressing up is all part of the game and the good news for you singers in the group, you now get your own bow-shaped hat just like the one the Queen of Soul herself wore at the US Presidential Inauguration. No, you don't have to go to Luke Song's hat shop, where original designer Song Millinery is refusing to offer an exact duplicate of the $500 Swarovski-embedded hat he made for Aretha (instead he will sell you a Satin ribbon model for $179), no you can download your very own to wear right here thanks to Viximo. Print it off and wear it loud and proud. You'll have to supply your own Swarovski crystals. By the way, you'll find Franklin's "Respect" on SingStar Rocks (Legends in the UK). [More]

Combine the small form of HP’s 10.5” wide “Mini” netbook computer with the decorative Chinese red sensibility of fashion designer Vivienne Tam and you have the “Digital Clutch”, a purse-sized balance of form and function that commands both attention and curiosity. I’ve been testing the blushing red computer, whose decorative peonies are meant to symbolize prosperity, for close to a week now and am delighted with its performance and comfort. Here is a computer that weighs 2.4 lbs and is ideal for navigating the web, editing photographs, and watching online movies. It’s more powerful than its feminine presence suggests. [More]

Apparently we Canadians take longer to commit to our online purchases than our American cousins, preferring instead to spend time researching online deals, looking up reviews, and educating ourselves before clicking away our money. This is according to the founders of Wishabi.ca, a newly launched shopping service that is designed to help Canadians better understand the upfront costs of goods shipped in from the US and provide the tools for users to cooperatively research the value of sales and online deals. CEO Wehuns Tan says that he and his staff performed a study that suggests that while the difference between US and Canadian currencies can often make it look like US stores have the lower price and so the better deal, once you factor in shipping and customs fees, it works out that only approximately 20% of those US deals actually turn out to offer the better price. The goal of Wishabi is to list every product that is available online to Canadian shoppers, in Canadian dollars, with hidden fees listed up front, for [More]

Whenever a major invention breaks out into the marketplace, it's interesting to go back to the notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci as the famous inventor recorded so many ideas hidden within his meticulous illustrations, that we often don't perceive them until the inventions surfaces within our own modern times. Helicopters, submarines, even androids have been ideas lying in wait within the pages of his 15th century work. iSteamphone is a poster and T-shirt created by Kevin Tong that pretends to have found an early drawing of Apple's iPhone, illustrated by it many layered parts in the signature style of the renaissance genius. [More]

Somewhere on micro social networking service Twitter, someone is swearing up a storm. CurseBird (Warning, excessive language) is a new website that monitors Twitter in real-time, hunting, displaying, and keeping track of those off-colour tweets. They offer a seven-day overview, showing which words are used the most and the ability to search for a specific user's account to bring up both their tweets with swear words in them, but also to give that user a rating [More]

Six and Co. have created a cute, cathartic website where you can deliver misfortune to the Recession Monster. The site is in French, but its easy to figure out. Each round you will be given a pin to stick into the monster, just as you would a Voodoo doll. Place the pin and see what happens. Each effect will slowly sap the monster's energy. When you take all of its power, you win! [More]