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February 27, 2010 17:24  by Kris Abel

CTV Chat

Corner Gas fans will get their first chance to chat online with stars Nancy Robertson and Fred Ewanuick as they hit the "tubes" during the premiere of their brand new shows "Hiccups" and "Dan For Mayor". The idea is to create an interactive experience for those watching the premieres and who habitually watch television with a computer nearby. Nancy will log on first at 8Pm EST this Monday, March 1st and then Fred will take over at 8:30pm EST. The session will close at 9PM, but transcripts of both chats will be available for those watching the shows on delayed broadcasts in other time zones. More details will be available on our front page this Monday.

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February 27, 2010 15:56  by Kris Abel

For many, bats combine the tiny, scurrying, beady-eyed intent of rodents with the dark unknown of the night. Large leather wings, a sharp pair of fangs, and the ability to find us when we’re lost and vulnerable has been enough to keep the Royal Ontario Museum’s Bat Cave amongst its most popular exhibit for two decades. Today, after a significant renovation, it reopens as a larger educational journey with more atmospheric lights, animated displays, better mechanization (more flapping), audio and video tours, and a new selection of preserved specimens for those looking to go nose to upturned nose with the creatures of the night.

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February 26, 2010 08:16  by Kris Abel

At first glance it seems like another annoying fanboy review of Avatar on YouTube. A teenager named Greg sits in his bedroom, surrounded by movie posters, his Mom screaming at him from beyond the door while he discusses the "Awesomeness" of the movie's "robots with little people inside", but watch and you'll see that the teenager is actually part-dog. The mottled skin, the floppy ears, the flat nose, only three fingers on each hand. No wonder he hates Avatar's "tree-hugging, hippie cats". Since it was posted on YouTube three days ago, it has ignited the online computer graphics community who are aghast at the quality of the special effects. Is it motion-capture? Is is animated? Is this an amateur effort or something someone from one of the big special effects companies have done on their spare time? Is it a piece of viral marketing? CGSociety says "Apparently it is not from a WETA employee". 

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February 24, 2010 08:15  by Kris Abel

Tron Legacy

Update: Disney's contest played out yesterday with gamers wearing "Flynn Lives" T-shirts appearing at hidden locations in cities around the world. Those who tracked down these gamers were given trading cards and entered for a prize. The result of this exercise has lead to a new website - Pitcell.com where Disney will be making available tickets for a special "limited event" in five cities. One of which is Toronto. Tickets will be released through Pitcell today at 4PM EST. What's the event about? That's still a mystery. 

   Disney's Flynn Lives viral for their upcoming Tron Legacy movie will complete it's cryptic binary countdown clock today. The only hint as to what it may all be about is a listing for twenty-four cities underneath, suggesting that something might happen in each of those cities. Sadly, only one is Canadian - Toronto. Will there be light cycles zipping in-and-out of city streets? The opening of an exclusive "Flynn's Arcade" as Disney did in San Diego last year (where attendees played the Space Paranoids video game)? The only hint is that Disney will be looking for "operatives" in each city. All will be revealed at the "Zero Hour". 

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February 24, 2010 07:17  by Kris Abel

”BlackBerry

I want my BlackBerry to be my computer. Not my desktop, not my laptop, my BlackBerry. I want to walk through airports, along city streets and crowded subways with my computer in my pocket. Not hanging from my shoulder in a heavy bag, making every movement feel awkward, weighing me down with something I have to protect, something that will ruffle my clothes and make me look out of breath when I arrive, but a computer that disappears into a pocket when I need it to. I want to walk, talk, and look free, but connected.

It’s a dream shared by anyone who owns a smartphone and each year the wireless industry takes incremental steps towards realizing it. This year, Research In Motion has pounced on presentations. They’re already on your BlackBerry, you’ve e-mailed them there for safe-keeping. You can view them, you can edit them, and if you could simply connect your BlackBerry to a projector you wouldn’t need a laptop. You could simply walk into a board room with nothing more than a clean suit, a friendly demeanor, and your phone. [More]

February 23, 2010 10:08  by Kris Abel

Mogo Mogo

It's a nightmare scenario for users of smartphones and internet sticks. When you cross the border and enter the United States, every connection made to the mobile internet comes with a set of "data roaming" fees, charges designed to reflect your use of another company's cellular network. These charges can quickly add up to hundreds if not thousands of dollars and without any real warning, become an awful end-of-the-month shocker when the bill finally arrives. In their usual over-complicated manner, Rogers Wireless today announced a new set of data plans that will encompass all of North America under one rate. The idea is that you pay a higher monthly fee than the usual Canadian rate, but it includes your use in the United States. As long as you don't go over your monthly usage restrictions, you won't rack up major charges when you check your e-mail, surf the web, or use Apps in the US. Here's the list of plans... [More]
February 23, 2010 08:14  by Kris Abel
In this clever piece of stop-motion animation, Maya Rota Klein imagines what it would be like if you could use Adobe's Photoshop to cook and prepare ingredients in the same process as you edit photos and create illustrations. Perfectly capturing the look and feel of Adobe's menus and toolsets, she imports her ingredients, copies and pasts elements, and applies baking effects to produce a selection of butter cookies. If only it were that easy. For more of her work, check out her website at http://www.minimalbaroque.com

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February 23, 2010 07:48  by Kris Abel

Mogo Mogo

From the creators of Little Wheel comes another wildly imaginative point-and-click adventure. Mogo-Mogo stars an ambitious inventor eager to create something that will greatly help his civilization. Lost for inspiration, a bump on the head sends him into a dreamland where he can explore abstract ideas that play out with a kind of logic. Wonderfully surreal, you have characters designed with a such a vibrant sense of 2D colour, but animated in full 3D. The puzzles are simple, but challenging and include arcade-like levels where you have to time things right to riddles where you have all the time in the world to work out the solution. I highly recommend you find the time to try this one out.  [More]
February 22, 2010 09:43  by Kris Abel

Acer Liquid

Rogers has sent out an interesting claim this morning. They've just announced plans to bring the Acer Liquid e smartphone to Canada this spring, adding that it will be the "only Android 2.1 enabled device in Canada", meaning that of the selection of cellphones on the market that run Google's smartphone software, it will be the only one with the latest version. Or will it? The Motorola Milestone launched last week through Telus. It has the older Google software, but an update is expected to be released any day now for it to bring it to Android 2.1. Well, at least in the States. Still no word yet if the update will be offered in Canada. Today's clam from Rogers seems to suggest they know better. Here's the details on the Acer Liquid e.

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February 21, 2010 21:25  by Kris Abel
Endless Ocean isn’t about saving the world. There is no master plan to foil, no one to rescue, and no bomb ticking away under a table. Instead it offers you the world and waits for you to discover it. It tempts you with an endless supply of intriguing mysteries, captivating tasks, and a sense that behind every corner and inside every nook is something wondrous, just waiting. The only sense of urgency comes from your own curiosity as you rush to try to experience it all.

Endless Ocean Blue World

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