It was one of the year's most anticipated gadgets, but don't expect to find it under the Christmas tree this year. The PS Vita is the next version of Sony's handheld PlayStation video game system. Although it enjoyed a launch into stores this weekend in Japan, Sony has announced today that for the United States and Canada, the release date won't be until February 22nd. Two versions of the PS Vita will be offered, but only one, a Wi-Fi model for $249.99, will be sold here in Canada. The more expensive Wi-Fi/3G version will be sold in the US for $299.99. Games for the system will vary between $9.99 and $49.99 each.

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Two major features of Apple's iCloud service are now available in Canada, a month after their initial launch in the United States. iTunes Match promsies to scan your music library and provide high quality replacements for songs not purchased from the iTunes Store, while TV In The Cloud allows users to re-download television shows bought previously and share them across all devices owned. Both services aim to make it easier for consumers to abandon the world of CDs and DVDs in favour of digital downloads.

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Two new online music services are set to launch here in Canada very soon. Rara.com has managed to gets its licenses in place so it can launch in 18 different countries this week, managing that rare launch that happens in both Canada and the US. Deezer.com, a service that has been active in Europe for several years, will follow with a launch in the new year and actually do so before any planned launch for the US.

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The use of social networks in political protests continues to be a source of consternation for authorities trying to keep their control. Unsure how to properly respond some overreact. Last January when the government of Egypt was faced with street protests matched with online support, they took the extreme measure of shutting down internet service country-wide. Now evidence is surfacing this week that authorities in Russia may have adopted spam tactics and Botnet systems to disrupt Twitter messages supporting protests in Moscow’s Triumphal Square. [More]

Folktales have long held that the greatest mountains hold the oldest secrets, that their roots can dig back deep into memory and their caverns will play home to ancient dragons. Within the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia lies Mount Burgess, home not to dragons, but dinosaurs and other strange creatures in a world you can explore online through a new virtual exhibit from the Royal Ontario Museum.

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Whether we're aware of it or not, we share our homes with a range of different insect species, so why not let in one of the most beneficial on purpose? That's the idea behind the Urban Beehive, a conceptual piece of technology being proposed by Philips. A large glass shell holding the hive would be mounted againt an indoor wall of your home, leading to an external flowerpot on the outside that would provide a passageway the bees could use to move back-and-forth with the outside world.

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It’s a prediction that’s been floating around for more than a decade. Advertising executives and new media specialists have long promised that you’ll have the option to purchase a shirt or dress worn by an actor or actress the moment you first admire it during a movie or TV show. Like the sweater that character is wearing? Press the “shop” button on your remote. That kind of thing. It’s technology that’s been talked about for so long that I thought it would never appear, but this week it arrives, debuting with the release of Sons of Anarchy Season 3 on Blu-ray, offering of all things, a wide assortment of Biker clothing.

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Google's eBook store is now open for business in Canada, offering "hundreds of thousands" of titles for sale. This is in addition to their free collection of classics which has been avaialble for some years now. The store will offer book formats that will work on a home PC or Mac along with compatible mobile devices including the iPad, Kobo, Sony Reader, and even the Barnes & Noble Nook.

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There’s a great deal of trial and error that goes into designing and building a new machine. One of Leonardo Da Vinci’s many astonishing traits was his ability to complete this process in his head. Throughout his busy career as an influential painter and sculptor he kept a sketchbook to jot down ideas in mechanics, hydraulics, architecture, automation, and flight. The way some people like to solve crosswords or Sudoku puzzles, Da Vinci invented cranes, gliders, gunships, and mechanical knights. Mere drawings no more, a new exhibit at the Ontario Science Centrepresents his work as freshly built wonders in wood, rope, and iron. Even in our modern world they have a presence that is magical.

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It’s one of Toronto’s best-kept secrets no more. Fact? Or Fiction?, a party game that challenges would-be detectives to out-think museum curators, is starting to spread to cities outside of Canada and around the world. Invented by the Royal Ontario Museum, it’s must-play popularity has helped it become an important fund-raiser for research and that, combined with the excitement shared in recent years by players across Facebook and Twitter, has ignited the interest of other museums, galleries, and institutions eager to run their own detective parties.

 

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