Without any Canadian wireless carrier to officially support it, Google has launched a new version of their Nexus One smartphone that is both compatible with Rogers' 3G network and is available unlocked for sale to Canadians through the Google Web Store. This means that, for those who are really eager, you can purchase the phone without a contract from Google, have it shipped to your address in Canada, and then use it with a Rogers SIM card tied to an existing contract in Canada. Beyond this change, there is no difference in features between the Nexus One being sold today and the model sold in the US earlier. This move also ushers in the arrival of paid apps within the Android Market, Google's online store for downloadable programs for phones running their software. Previously the Canadian version of the Android Market was limited to offering free apps only.  [More]

With the release of God of War III into stores today, I present my review, originally posted on March 8th.

There are many motives that can drive a need for revenge; honor, love, survival, but Kratos, a Spartan warrior in an age of Greek mythology, is fueled by a far weaker and sadder emotion; resentment. He bemoans everyone and everything around him, a vengeful column of rage and entitlement, who has retreated to value his anger over all else and defend it at absolute cost in order to keep the sense of superiority it gives him. He has committed atrocities, even murdered his own family, and while he could blame the manipulations of the Gods and their petty squabbles, the truth is he’s that callous and uncaring of a man. He hates life, and would end it if he could, but since he keeps coming back from the dead, he sets out to seek revenge by murdering those who’ve shaped existence - Zeus the King of Gods and anyone who gets in the way. [More]

What is a break for schools and kids isn't always a break for parents. If you're looking for some quick activities to keep restless minds and bodies engaged this month, I have you covered with a look at five top notch websites for kids. These free services deliver activities in storytelling, paper crafts, creative discovery, exploring science, playing games, and watching cartoons. Meeting the needs of different ages and interests, these brilliantly designed children's websites offer thrifty, creative, cooperative ideas that use the home computer as starting point, not as an electronic babysitter, to exploring engaging young minds towards the world around them.

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The New York Times is reporting today that Starbucks will be the first major brand to partner with up-and-coming social network FourSquare in an experiment that will offer rewards to customers who allow their movements to be tracked by their phone's GPS as they enter and leave Starbucks stores. When a FourSquare users walks into a location, be it a coffee shop, restaurant, or even their office, their GPS-enabled phone automatically sends out an alert across the network broadcasting their entry into that space. The idea is to make it easy for your friends to identify your favorite hang-outs and hotspots and to create a system where you can pass on notes and recommendations about the places you visit. Visiting a location is called "Checking In" and when you visit a location often, you can earn special game-like badges and points to increase your status at those places. For example here's the FourSquare page for a StarBucks in Burnaby

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Last June Sony announced their plans to take on the Nintendo Wii with their own motion-control system for the PlayStation 3. After much development, the company has now unveiled the first set of proper details as to what those controls will look like and what kind of games will be offered for it. PlayStation Move is the final name for the system which, similar to Nintendo's Wii remote, nunchuck and sensor bar, involves three components. The PlayStation Move motion controller will track the movements of players through 3D space while the PlayStation Move sub-controller is an optional secondary device that will be used for navigation and control of in-game characters and object. The two are combined with the PlayStation Eye camera to create a tracking system that Sony promises will be "a motion-based, high definition gaming experience unlike anything on the market".

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This has nothing to do with tech, but made me laugh hard and I feel I must share. RearGear is a shop on Etsy.com offering handmade "cheerful solutions" to your pets un-manicured back sides. Butt Covers sell for $5 US each and are available in a variety of designs - fuzzy dice, sheriff's badge, cupcakes, biohazard signs and more. It may seem like a very silly idea, they don';t look very comfortable to me, but the shop has already sold out of its supplies in just one day after getting listed on Etsy.com.  [More]

Zeebraf is a game designer whose titles I've featured here before, my favorite being his Journeys of Reemus adventures. Today I'm happy to say that his newest puzzle adventure, Ugly American - Citizen Ugly has been picked up as a time waster at our very own Comedy Network. Mark Lily works for the Department of Integration where his job is to help new citizens settle into their first jobs. As Mark you must first escape from a rather embarrassing situation involving an angry girlfriend and a pair of hand-cuffs and then visit each of the new citizens, and prevent them from getting fired. With each scene you must look around for items to collect and combine to create the tools needed to overcome the various issues and problems. As always, Zeebarf's is a strange and funny guy and his world here is full of zombies, aliens, and well, wizards too.  [More]

The secrets unlocked by the Hubble telescope are extraordinary and beautiful, and yet no matter how you see them; printed in a magazine, displayed across a website, or even viewed on a High Definition screen, you can’t help but feel that you’re not getting the full view. The light entering the orbiting telescope is so dense in detail, so compounded in context, that it’s not until you can feel like you’re swimming through it that you’ll find a real appreciation of just what those cosmic swirls and luminous flares mean. A new film set for release on March 19th, Hubble presents the telescope’s remarkable imagery across IMAX screens, delivering a moving journey inside a cloudy nebula, through colliding galaxies, past a stellar demise, and to the misshapen and mysterious galaxies that exist right at the very edge of the telescope’s view.

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Prime Minister Stephen Harper has agreed to connect with YouTube Canada for a little online interview tomorrow using the popular video-sharing network. Tomorrow, March 11th, at 10:45 am EST YouTube will stream his response to the Speech from the Throne at http://www.youtube.com/talkcanada. After the stream ends, you can then submit your own questions for him, in either English or French, both through video and text, and vote for the best ones. On Tuesday March 16th at 7 pm EST, YouTube will then post an interview with the PM where he will be asked a selection of questions taken from the top-rated entries. The Speech from the Throne will be a major policy speech for the PM, in which is will lay out his vision for the future of our country. Here's your chance to have him speak to any issues you may feel he's missed. YouTube says if you're curious as to what the format will look like, you can check out the results from a similar session held for US President Barack Obama. Stephen Harper is no stranger to YouTube, he has his own channel which you can check out here.  [More]

While attending the very first sales of 3D Televisions at his stores in the United States today, Best Buy executive Vice President Mike Vitelli hinted at an issue with 3D long-suspected by consumers, that the 3D glasses manufactured by one company may not work with a 3D television produced by another. He passed on the details to PC Magazine while explaining how the issue will effect the way his stores carry and promote the new high-end products, saying that they will avoid showcasing the different sets side-by-side as usual to avoid confusion.

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