In most cases the content of Apple's websites between the US and Canadian versions are the same, but compare the listed features for the new iPad and you'll see that something is missing - iBooks. There's no reference to it at all on the Canadian website which means that the company isn't certain if they'll have the Canadian iBooks Store up-and-running in time for the iPad's launch. Scroll to the bottom of the Canadian iPad Features page and you'll see this disclaimer: "Some features and applications are not available in all areas. Application availability and pricing are subject to change". This is far more hopeful language than the disclaimer that appears on the Australian iPad page, also missing iBooks, which reads: "iBooks available in the U.S. only."

The iPad isn’t finished yet. With sixty days still to go before the Wi-Fi version appears in stores worldwide, Apple still has time to add new features and tweak existing ones. The iPads that were on display in Apple’s post-event demo room were just prototypes, with some features not quite working, such as the ability to change the screen’s wallpaper, something I was warned not to try, or missing entirely, such as the cellular 3G internet access or the full range of font size options for reading books (there were just two – big and small). Next to each iPad stood an Apple employee in a friendly blue shirt and whenever I asked one a question, about text-to-speech or photo-editing features, the answer was always “we’re still working on it”. [More]

After months of speculation Apple unveiled their newest device today. It’s called an iPad, due to launch in two months, and it is meant to be a third portable device, neither the laptop that you use for heavy work when sitting down or the Smartphone you carry with you everywhere. It is an in-between device, something you might use on the couch, carry with you into board meetings, or read books with in bed at the end of the day. Not everyone is going to see a need for it rightaway, a luxury for those with heavy computer lives, but one that expands Apple’s multi-touch universe into a bigger world. [More]

Notice: Due to technical difficulties within Apple's presentation hall I could not connect with my liveblogging service to deliver a feed here on this page, but anticipating that there might be an issue I switched to my Twitter account linked above. I apologize for the confusion and hope my Twitter feed was informative.

One of Apple’s longest-held conceits is the single-button mouse. For decades the company has championed the idea that the computer mouse should be extremely simple in design. While other computer mice began with two buttons and evolved to include scroll wheels, side buttons, macros, and zooms, Apple has done its best to stick to its original one button design, passionately, compulsively, even as fans began to grumble and the usefulness of right-clicking, scrolling, and zooming, became undeniable. It would be wrong to create a mouse today without these features, and so with great determination Apple has done just that with the Magic Mouse without, somehow, giving in to adding more buttons. The magic part is that it there are no buttons at all thanks to a touch-sensitive shell. Technically the whole mouse is just one big button. [More]

It is the next logical step for Google's Street View, a feature within Google Maps that allows you to explore areas with zoomable panoramas, to leave the roads and move in-land to explore interesting places beyond their front gates. One of the first is this tour of the San Diego Zoo. The team left their camera-mounted cars at the office and instead rode a special trike equipped with GPS and a camera system though the zoo's pathways, allowing you a glimpse of all of their displays, from their new Elephant Odyssey and large animal grounds, to the smaller enclosures and even the concession stands and theatres, although the animals aren't always out in view. To find the tour simply search for "San Diego Zoo" in Google Maps and click on the big green arrow. Other special attractions that have been given the Street View treatment include Legoland and SeaWorld. Coming soon will be a Street View tour of Universal Studios Hollywood.

 
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It’s true, the DX is merely a larger version of the standard Kindle. It has a wider keyboard with more pronounced keys and a significantly larger screen, but from there on the two are identical in every way. Same features, same technology. Now the screen is more than just a little bit bigger, it’s huge, enough that it completely changes the way you use it. The DX is bigger than a paperback, than a pocketbook, even a hard cover edition or an encyclopedia. It’s about the size of a coffee table book, which is an important comparison when you consider how many coffee table books are read on airplanes or subways. This begs a number of interesting questions. If it’s too big for travelling and if it’s too large for reading novels, what do you use the Kindle DX for? [More]

If it's one thing Hackers have learned about the human race it's that we're predictable. The strongest passwords are ones made up of random numbers, letters, and symbols, but no one wants to have to memorize such things, so we try to develop little tricks, jokes, or personal references to create words or phrases that are easy for us to remember. Easy to remember can often mean easy to guess and as clever and unique as we like to think we are when we're alone in front of a computer, the truth is we're no different than the millions of others inventing their own passwords around the world and it's these patterns that online criminals and cyber bullies pick up on. Here are ten of the most-common tricks people try to use when creating a password that often result in the most common and insecure passwords of all time.

Using iconic scenes from the Star Wars movies with connections to Facebook, Google Maps, and Google Streetview, Adidas has created a fun website where you can have Darth Vader command the Death Star to move towards Earth and hunt down one of your friends for a personalized attack. It's all part of a campaign for Adidas' new Star Wars Originals line of running shoes and sports wear. 

I've watched this short film three times now and I just can't control myself when I do. Nolan's Cheddar is a tale of great suspense about a mouse in the most dire of situations. For those who are worried about the mouse, understand that filmmaker John Nolan's main talent is in animatronics.

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