Rogers unveils BlackBerry Torch pricing Nearly a month after Research in Motion Ltd. released its latest smartphone, the BlackBerry Torch 9800, in the United States for US$199.99 (with a two-year AT&T contract) Rogers finally said on Wednesday how much the device will cost in Canada: exactly the same. 9/1/2010 5:41:15 PM
The Frozen Zoo aiming to bring endangered species back from the brink The inside of a metal box filled with liquid nitrogen and frozen to -173C (-280F) is hardly the ideal habitat for a large African mammal. But, as a test tube is fished out of the frigid container amid a billowing cloud of white gas, a note written on its side is unequivocal about its contents. "This is a northern white rhino." 9/1/2010 2:03:44 PM
Ferrari recalls 458 Italias after a spate of fires Ferrari recalled more than 400 luxury Italia cars today after reports that a design fault could cause them to catch fire. The first incident occurred in July, when the driver noticed the rear panel of his 458 Italia was on fire while driving in Paris. A few days later an Italia driving caught fire in Switzerland. 9/1/2010 1:56:41 PM
Government games: Wikileaks rape inquiry reopened A senior Swedish prosecutor has ordered the reopening of a rape investigation into Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. It is the second time a Swedish prosecutor has been overruled by a prosecutor of higher rank in relation to the claims against Mr Assange. 9/1/2010 8:40:37 AM
India to ask Google, Skype for data access India on Wednesday launched a clampdown on major Internet communications firms, including Google and Skype, and began accessing some BlackBerry traffic in a campaign driven by security fears. Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said notices were being sent to Google and Skype 9/1/2010 8:33:45 AM
Bite-sized iPod Nano evidence grows Apple may be losing its knack for keeping secrets, as rumors of a tiny, square-shaped iPod Nano become more convincing by the day. If the rumors are correct, Apple's next iPod Nano will have a 1.2-by-1.2-inch screen, a connector like the ones found on larger iOS devices and little room for anything else. 9/1/2010 8:12:07 AM
Researchers rescue Moore's Law Will memristors save Moore's Law? The answer appears to be yes … that is, if you redefine Moore's Law, which has fueled the growth of the computer industry for four decades. Research groups say that memristors will dramatically enhance the storage capacity and usability of computers. 8/31/2010 9:35:00 PM
Google adds ‘priority inbox’ to Gmail Google has launched a new ‘priority inbox’ service for its web-based email service, Gmail. The search giant has developed a complex set of algorithms that can analyse a user’s email behaviour, and rank emails depending on their perceived importance. 8/31/2010 6:50:23 PM
Paralyzed computer engineer helps develop technology for kids with disabilities Eric Wan sways his head from side to side and the sound of tinkling ivories radiates throughout the room. The pace of the melody accelerates in tandem with the rhythm of his movements, as colourful shapes twirl in sync on a monitor. With each bob of the head, the computer engineering graduate is crafting his own little music composition. 8/31/2010 6:24:22 PM
Bell, Telus must rebate phone customers: CRTC Bell, Telus and other phone companies must pay back about $310 million to urban customers in the culmination of a bitter dispute with consumer groups that has lasted years, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has ruled. The rebates will be between $25 and $90 per customer, the CRTC said Tuesday. 8/31/2010 4:47:55 PM
CRTC boosts access for small Internet providers The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ruled Monday that big telephone companies, such as Bell and Telus, must make their networks available to alternate Internet service providers at speeds offered to retail customers. 8/31/2010 7:53:16 AM
It's not a tall tale: West Coast forests are world's highest A new study using laser pulses has found that the world's tallest forests are those along the coasts of B.C. and the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The temperate forests of Douglas fir, Western hemlock, redwoods and sequoias that stretch from northern California into British Columbia easily reach more than 40 metres (130 feet). 8/31/2010 7:40:53 AM
'Origami' concept yacht folds to go faster At first glance it may look more like a black box than a millionaire's play pen, but "unfold" this superyacht and a world of luxury and opulence is unveiled. This is the "Origami Yacht," the innovative design concept by Italian designer and Millennium Yacht Design Award winner Fabio Federici. 8/29/2010 11:54:23 PM
Canadian rescue capacity questioned in wake of Arctic ship grounding The rescue of a cruise ship stranded on a rock in Arctic waters is raising questions about whether Canada would have the ability to respond quickly enough to a true disaster in its Far North. “The weather was good and that provided the time for a coast guard ice breaker to travel 500 miles to conduct a rescue.” 8/29/2010 10:51:18 PM
Sony obtains Australia ban on PS3 hack chip Sony has won a temporary ban to prevent Australian distributors selling a hardware hack for the PlayStation 3 (PS3). The PS3Jailbreak "dongle" allows gamers to play homemade and pirated games on the game's console. 8/29/2010 2:15:24 PM
Not everything you hear about wildlife is true I once heard a management consultant compare organizational change to the way a butterfly emerges from a chrysalis to begin a new life. A nice analogy, but wrong. A butterfly is in the last stage of life, not the beginning. Most of its life is spent in the larval or caterpillar stage that lasts weeks. 8/29/2010 1:00:05 PM
Titanic expedition provides first wreck images in five years An expedition that surveying the wreck of the Titanic is showing off some crisp images of the doomed ocean liner. It has used a pair of robots to take thousands of photographs and hours of video of the wreck, which lies roughly four kilometres below the surface. 8/29/2010 8:11:50 AM
The new 'Anti-Facebook': Will you use it? Developers of an open-source alternative to Facebook have set a launch date of Sept. 15. Diaspora is described as a "privacy-aware, personally controlled" social network. The project made headlines earlier this year when Facebook was slammed for its complex and confusing privacy settings. 8/28/2010 12:02:14 PM
Two new planets discovered in Lyra constellation Two new planets transiting, or crossing in front of, the same star have been discovered 2,000 light years fr om Earth, the first such discovery confirmed by celestial detectives. The discoveries are the results of the Kepler mission, a spacecraft which has been sent into the universe to try to discover Earth-sized planets. 8/28/2010 11:48:29 AM
US Court allows agents to secretly put GPS trackers on cars (Video) Law enforcement officers may secretly place a GPS device on a person's car without seeking a warrant from a judge. The man appealed on the grounds that sneaking onto a person's driveway and secretly tracking their car violates a person's reasonable expectation of privacy. 8/28/2010 9:07:15 AM
3,000-year-old tools unearthed in Labrador Workers at a housing project in Sheshatshiu, central Labrador, have uncovered 3,000-year-old artifacts, including tools and weapons. What started as a housing development has evolved into an archaeological dig. 8/28/2010 8:38:05 AM
Black rice beats blueberry antioxidants Blueberries are a well-known source of antioxidants, but black rice bran is better, according to scientists. Black rice is rich in iron, high in fibre and packed with anthocyanin antioxidants. Anthocyanin antioxidants have shown promise in fighting heart disease, cancer and other diseases. 8/28/2010 8:31:34 AM
Kelowna: Internet predator’s sentence delayed The sentencing for a man who admitted luring teenaged girls over the Internet has been delayed because he faces new, “more serious” charges. Raymond Morneau faces new charges of making and possessing child pornography back in the summer of 2008. 8/28/2010 8:19:11 AM
New cancer drug will prolong lives, Vancouver scientists say Vancouver researchers have developed a new cancer-fighting drug that will prolong the life of patients with advanced prostate cancer, doubling their life expectancy compared with a decade ago. A report on the findings, written by a team of scientists led by Dr. Martin Gleave. 8/28/2010 6:59:30 AM
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sues major tech firms Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Paul Allen is suing nearly a dozen major technology companies, including Google and Apple, alleging that they infringed on four Web technology patents held by his company Interval Licensing LLC. 8/27/2010 6:29:03 PM
2 in B.C. linked to Facebook child porn bust A former Vancouver private school teacher and a resident of Kelowna, B.C., have been linked by police to an international child pornography ring that operated through Facebook. In total, 11 people were arrested, including six in Britain and three in Australia, police in Australia said Friday. 8/27/2010 5:58:32 PM
2012 Olympics to use laser guns in pentathlon If there's one thing I know about the Summer Olympics, it's that hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid. And to prove my point, this just in from London: Laser guns will replace air pistols in the modern pentathlon at the 2012 Olympics. 8/26/2010 6:59:25 PM
Ottawa research making waves with fake corneas Artificial corneas developed by a University of Ottawa scientist have shown promising results in early trials. The results — based on 10 experimental transplants performed in Sweden — were published Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine. 8/26/2010 8:51:14 AM
Sony joins Toshiba in 3-D TV race, no glasses needed Sony Corp. is working on 3-D televisions that don't need special glasses, joining a race with rival Toshiba Corp., but sees cost and technological hurdles to overcome before they can go on sale. Toshiba said earlier this week it is working on glasses-free 3-D TVs. 8/26/2010 7:35:50 AM
**Worth Reading: Gene researchers find key role for Vitamin D in range of diseases Vitamin D has long presented something of an enigma when it comes to the wide variety of diseases it might prevent. Research has linked not having enough of the sunshine vitamin to ailments as unalike as colon cancer, multiple sclerosis and rickets. 8/25/2010 8:39:53 AM
Microsoft now fueling Yahoo's search engine Microsoft Corp.’s technology is now processing all the search requests on Yahoo Inc.’s website in the U.S. and Canada, completing a long-awaited leap that creates a more formidable challenger to Google Inc. in the most lucrative part of the online advertising market. 8/25/2010 8:14:30 AM
Wikipedia tampering traced to Winnipeg air force headquarters The computer used to alter information on a Wikipedia entry critical of the Conservative government’s decision to spend billions of dollars on a new stealth fighters has been traced to the air force’s headquarters in Winnipeg. The computer was also used to insert insults, aimed at Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff. 8/25/2010 7:05:04 AM
Facebook on collision course with privacy watchdog The clock has run out on Facebook to revamp its privacy rules to avoid a public showdown with Canada's privacy czar over how it protects the personal information of its 500 million users worldwide. 8/25/2010 7:00:16 AM
Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime It’s 1 p.m. on a Thursday and Dianne Bates, 40, juggles three screens. She listens to a few songs on her iPod, then taps out a quick e-mail on her iPhone and turns her attention to the high-definition television. As Ms. Bates multitasks, she is also churning her legs on an elliptical machine. 8/24/2010 9:32:26 PM
Cold War weapons expert warns Wi-Fi could cause birth defects A British scientist and former naval microwave weapons expert has waded into the debate over the safety of wireless networks in Canadian schools, warning if left unchecked, generations could face genetic disorders. Barrie Trower said there are no scientific studies that categorically state there is no harm from prolonged exposure. 8/24/2010 6:09:36 PM
Web scam hits iTunes and Paypal users ITunes accounts linked to Paypal have been targeted in a scam with a number of users complaining that they have been cleaned out. Apple and Paypal refused to discuss the incident. "My account was charged over $4,700. I called security at Paypal and was told a large number of iTunes stores accounts were compromised." 8/24/2010 5:55:05 PM
Whoops! New programs aim to curb email missteps A new, groundbreaking computer program called ToneCheck scans emails for tone, the same way Spell Check looks for spelling errors. Meanwhile, Google's Gmail now lets remorseful users recall an email within 30 seconds of sending it, up from the earlier five-second grace period. 8/24/2010 5:01:13 PM
Report suggests microbes have gobbled up Gulf spill The mystery of what is happening to oil in the Gulf of Mexico deepened Tuesday with scientists now suggesting that microbes have gobbled it up. That's a much different picture than the one painted by a team at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution last week. 8/24/2010 4:34:18 PM
Space age technology could help Chilean miners survive NASA has been asked to help the 33 miners trapped more than 2,300 ft underground. Rescuers are using plastic supply tubes, called "doves", to deliver supplies to the miners, who were trapped in a 500 sq ft passage by a rock collapse in the San Jose gold and copper mine in Chile. 8/24/2010 4:32:07 PM
Facebook Places: Be your friends' 'Big Brother?' I hope you have nothing but good, trustworthy friends. If you don't, they might tell the world you are in some pretty crazy places, thanks to Facebook's new "Places" tool. An angry "friend" can broadcast to everyone (including your boss) that you are elsewhere -- even if you are in your cubicle working. 8/24/2010 7:21:05 AM
Toshiba working on 3-D TVs that won't require glasses Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corp. said Tuesday it is developing technology for a 3-D television that won't require special glasses. The 3-D TVs now on sale, such as those from rivals Panasonic Corp. and Sony Corp., require glasses. 8/24/2010 6:54:34 AM
Lotto ticket checkers may miss wins Lottery players may be tossing out winning tickets because they're not being tested properly at self-serve checkers. According to the Western Canada Lottery Corporation, the problem isn't with the machines. It's how people are using them that make the results unreliable. 8/23/2010 7:27:45 PM
Wikileaks says Australia warned of 'dirty tricks' Australian intelligence services had warned WikiLeaks of "dirty tricks" before Swedish authorities issued a short-lived arrest warrant for founder Julian Assange over a rape claim, he said Monday. "We were warned on the 11th (of August) by Australian intelligence that we should expect this sort of thing," Assange said. 8/23/2010 6:31:05 PM
Film puts Facebook founder in harsh spotlight In a well-reported piece in The New York Times this weekend, we learn that Facebook has tried to have it both ways with “The Social Network,” David Fincher’s much-anticipated new thriller from Sony. They’ve tried to shape the direction of the movie, and when that didn’t really work, they’ve tried to ignore it. 8/23/2010 6:27:00 PM
Teachers asked to 'unfriend' students on Facebook A school district in Florida is advising teachers not to "friend" students on social networking sites, claiming that teacher-student communication through this medium is "inappropriate." A list of guidelines to teachers suggested they don’t correspond with students through sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. 8/23/2010 10:30:46 AM
Beer microbes live 553 days outside Space Station (Video) A small English fishing village has produced an out-of-this-world discovery. Bacteria taken from cliffs at Beer on the South Coast have shown themselves to be hardy space travellers. And when scientists inspected the microbes a year and a half later, they found many were still alive. 8/23/2010 8:08:45 AM
Facebook is the new Google With the arrival of Facebook Places , Facebook is showing (not for the first time) that it has the power to steamroll friends and competitors alike. People can gripe all they want about privacy concerns, but with half a billion members, Facebook is the only game in town, so leaving comes at pretty huge costs. 8/23/2010 7:56:42 AM
RIM Said to Plan Crusher Tank Technology for Tablet Computer Research In Motion is turning to technology used in BMW audio systems and the Army’s Crusher tank as it tries to distinguish its new tablet computer from Apple's iPad. RIM, based in Waterloo, Ontario, is racing to introduce its tablet as rivals debut similar devices. 8/22/2010 9:17:41 PM
Microsoft's Halo: 'Reach leaked' Just like its predecessors Halo 2 and Halo 3, Halo: Reach has been leaked this weekend, with modders at Game-Tut finding a way to download the game from Microsoft's own servers. Microsoft has been hosting the full game online. Only a few people were allowed to download the game with a special code. 8/22/2010 9:15:03 PM
Potatoes zapped into superfood Shocking potatoes with ultrasound or electricity can make them healthier, research has shown. The stress of being sonically blasted causes them to generate more antioxidants, which combat heart disease and cancer. Researchers believe the techniques could be used to turn the humble potato into a "superfood". 8/22/2010 9:07:31 PM
Bees: Secrets of the swarm Insects, birds, fish – they're not the most intelligent of beasts, right? Creepy crawlies or aquatic creatures are the ones humans feel furthest from; unlike many mammals, they don't engage behaviour that is easy to anthropomorphise. 8/22/2010 9:05:45 PM
Titanic explorers delay 3-D mission by a day A team of scientists that will explore the wreckage of the Titanic has delayed its departure from St. John's by a day. The expedition will assess the deteriorating condition of the world's most famous shipwreck and create a detailed three-dimensional map that will "virtually raise the Titanic" for the public. 8/22/2010 8:45:31 PM
Alien hunters 'should look for artificial intelligence' A senior astronomer has said that the hunt for alien life should take into account alien "sentient machines". Seti, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, has until now sought radio signals from worlds like Earth. 8/22/2010 7:42:12 PM
'BlackBerry overtime': Technology creating around-the-clock workers It’s Sunday night and you’re in bed. To make Monday a little less miserable you reach for your smartphone and start clearing email that piled up over the last week. An hour later, you turn off the light, satisfied you’re going to have a running start in the morning. Were you on the clock? Or on your own time? 8/22/2010 7:27:41 PM
Social networking sites a boon to fraudsters: report When it comes to securities fraud, either con men are getting busier or Canadians are getting smarter. According to a report from Criminal Intelligence Service Canada, 26 per cent of Canadians said they'd been approached with a fraud scheme some time last year. 8/22/2010 7:21:40 AM
When East meets West, cancer patients win An ancient four-herb formula used in China for 1,800 years might one day be available as a prescription pill to treat side effects caused by cancer chemotherapy. The Chinese medicine has long been used for diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and cramps, which happen to be side effects associated with certain chemotherapy drugs. 8/21/2010 7:41:04 PM
The age of 'Eve,' mother of all humans is confirmed A maternal ancestor to all living humans called mitochondrial Eve likely lived about 200,000 years ago, at roughly the same time anatomically modern humans are believed to have emerged. Mitochondrial DNA is only passed down the maternal line, and can be traced back to one woman. 8/21/2010 3:52:49 PM
Government dirty tricks: Sweden drops arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder Swedish authorities issued an arrest warrant for the founder of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks on Saturday on suspicion of rape, but then swiftly withdrew it. Assange, who is Australian by birth, told WikiLeaks' Twitter page the charges were "without basis" and that their timing was "deeply disturbing." 8/21/2010 3:46:07 PM
Black market for hackers part of online crime frontier: Report Criminal organizations are calling on black market hackers-for-hire, where they can buy the tools and services they need to break into brokerage accounts, says a new report by Canada's crime watchdog. It's one example of a new frontier of online-based fraud that exists for organized crime in this country. 8/21/2010 7:18:05 AM
Seattle schools enact controversial policy over students' online postings What Seattle school students post on public sites such as Facebook or MySpace could get them in trouble -- even if posted from home on their private computers. For example, if you were to write, "I'm going to kick your butt" on another student's page and the school principal hears about it, they can do something about it 8/20/2010 6:19:25 PM
Eerie UFO sightings reported over Cultus Lake Reports have been flying in of an unidentified flying object hovering over Cultus Lake in Chilliwack, B.C. on Tuesday night. The story broke on radio Wednesday morning. 'Dallas' called into the show to report that his girlfriend spotted some eerie lights flooding the pitch-black sky. 8/20/2010 3:51:02 PM
PlayStation 3 'hacked' by hardware crackers A group of hardware hackers claim they are about to release the first product to allow gamers to play homemade and pirated games on the PlayStation 3. The PS3 is the only games console that has not been hacked, despite being on the market for more than three years. 8/20/2010 7:58:47 AM
Update: B.C. gambling website stumbles in re-launch An attempt to re-launch the B.C. Lottery Corporation's troubled PlayNow website apparently failed Thursday night, as anyone trying to visit the casino gambling site found only a page saying the site was not available and asking for patience. 8/20/2010 6:33:01 AM
B.C. online casino relaunched after privacy breaches The British Columbia government has fixed its online gambling website, which was shut down due to a privacy breach. PlayNow.com, the first government-sanctioned online casino in North America, was taken offline a few hours after it was launched on July 15. 8/20/2010 5:56:46 AM
Space tourism jet’s landing gear collapses during test The left main landing gear on Virgin Galactic's space tourism jet collapsed as it landed after a test flight in the Mojave Desert Thursday. No injuries were reported. WhiteKnightTwo is designed to carry Virgin's spaceship to high altitude and then release the rocket carrying passengers. 8/19/2010 7:29:27 PM
Race is on to make 3-D porn films Despite recent reports of three-dimensional backlash and poor returns for recent mainstream releases, the race to release what some claim to be the world’s first pornographic film in the 3-D format is on around the world. Italian director Tinto Brass announced last January he would produce a 3-D remake of his 1979 erotic film Caligula. 8/19/2010 1:37:41 PM
Germany: 'Google Knows More about Us than the KGB, Stasi or Gestapo' With just weeks to go before Google launches its Street View service in Germany, the government in Berlin has finally begun to take notice. But Chancellor Merkel's cabinet is wary of specifically targeting the company. German commentators wonder if the private sphere is being redefined. 8/19/2010 1:15:43 PM
Cosmic Log: Don't fall for Mars mix-up It's prime time once again for e-mails that claim the planet Mars will loom as large as the full moon. Should you believe the claims? This year in particular, nothing could be farther from the truth. The Great Mars Hoax tends to turn up every August. 8/19/2010 12:39:04 PM
Russian space dogs' 1960 flight celebrated Russia on Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of the space flight of two dogs that paved the way for human astronauts after orbiting the Earth and returning alive. The 1960, mission by Belka and Strelka was a key step in the flight of Yuri Gagarin, who on April 12, 1961 became the first human in space. 8/19/2010 8:25:51 AM
Cameron Diaz, Julia Roberts, Jessica Biel, earn nods as riskiest celeb searches If you're looking for Cameron Diaz, Julia Roberts or Jessica Biel online, look out! The movie stars top the latest list of the most dangerous celebrities to search for online, according to new research by computer-security software maker McAfee Inc. 8/19/2010 7:50:57 AM
Facebook introduces 'Places' location-sharing program Facebook Wednesday introduced "Places," its own location-sharing program that had been rumored for months. The program for mobile phones will lets its users "share where you are with your friends, see where your friends are and discover new places around you," said Mark Zuckerberg. 8/19/2010 7:02:51 AM
Intel to buy McAfee for $7.68 billion Chip maker Intel says it has agreed to buy computer-security software maker McAfee Inc. for $7.68 billion, or $48 per share. Intel Corp., which is based in Santa Clara, Calif., said the deal highlights "that security is now a fundamental component of online computing." 8/19/2010 6:59:16 AM
Social networking helps draw visitors to Penticton By using an arsenal of online methods, including social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, the Peach City is experiencing a bountiful summer season. Jessie Campbell, tourism and marketing manger for Penticton and Wine Country Tourism, said its primary promotional areas remain visitors from the Lower Mainland and Alberta. 8/19/2010 6:22:48 AM
Designer plans to thwart thieves with bendable bike Design whiz Kevin Scott has solved the problem of how to keep your commuter bike safe: bend it around a pole to lock it. The 21-year-old British design school graduate created his revolutionary “bendable bike” as a problem-solving class assignment. 8/18/2010 9:25:37 PM
Feeling old? Mindset university study shows how times have changed MOST young Americans entering university this year can't write in cursive, think email is too slow, that Beethoven's a dog and Michelangelo a computer virus. Czechoslovakia has never existed, Fergie is a pop singer, not a duchess; Clint Eastwood is a sensitive movie director, not Dirty Harry. 8/18/2010 9:06:00 PM
Provincially run gambling sites not worth the risks: Experts When officials in British Columbia and Ontario announced plans to start new online-gambling ventures, they cited the retention of potentially hundreds of millions of dollars that would otherwise go to offshore sites. They also promised a more responsible and secure environment in which to play. 8/18/2010 6:21:52 PM
Black hole mystery unveiled by magnetic star discovery (Video) The discovery of a rare magnetic star - or magnetar - is challenging theories about the origin of black holes. Magnetars are a special type of neutron star with a powerful magnetic field. They are formed by gravitational collapse after the original, or progenitor star, dies and forms a catastrophic supernova. 8/18/2010 1:20:12 PM
Google boss Eric Schmidt warns on social use of media Young people may one day have to change their names in order to escape their previous online activity, Eric Schmidt has warned. Schmidt told the Wall Street Journal he feared they did not understand the consequences of having so much personal information about them online. 8/18/2010 1:14:55 PM
Trees can't live forever without sex, study shows Certain trees are able to clone themselves, which raises the tantalising possibility that they could effectively "live forever." Dr Dilara Ally and her team at the University of British Columbia found that the fertility of clones declines with age. 8/18/2010 1:10:37 PM
Scientists suggest fresh look at psychedelic drugs Mind-altering drugs like LSD, ketamine or magic mushrooms could be combined with psychotherapy to treat people suffering from depression, compulsive disorders or chronic pain. (Ed: The War against drugs gang has tried to keep this research from happening for years.) 8/18/2010 1:05:04 PM
BlackBerry Torch selling slowly: analysts Comments Things are going from bad to worse for Research In Motion, with sales of its latest device — the BlackBerry Torch — underwhelming analysts and seeing discounts on Amazon.com after its U.S. release four days ago. The Torch has only been released in the United States so far. 8/18/2010 7:18:16 AM
Canadians unsophisticated cellphone users: KPMG Canadians are behind the rest of the world in using their mobile phones for banking and for making purchases. Only about 19 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they felt comfortable using their mobile phone for financial transactions, compared with a global average of 34 per cent. 8/18/2010 7:16:13 AM
Hackers crack Facebook accounts with ‘Dislike’ button Computer security firm Sophos on Monday warned that scammers are duping Facebook users with a bogus “Dislike” button that slips malicious software onto machines. There is no “Dislike” version of the “Like” icon that members of the world’s top social networking website use to endorse online comments etc. 8/17/2010 6:20:34 PM
Windows 7 mobile phones will link to Xbox 360 consoles Microsoft unveiled a slew of videogames for play on smartphones running its new Windows 7 mobile software and said the devices will link to its Xbox 360 videogame consoles. "We're really approaching this as we would a console, so we have to deliver the breadth of games and the quality people expect from Xbox." 8/17/2010 5:20:51 PM
Does Wi-Fi make you sick? Living wirelessly could come with a price. But it depends on who you ask. With parents in Barrie arguing that Wi-Fi in elementary schools is making their children sick, it appears the jury is still out among scientists on whether electromagnetic radiation from wireless routers can harm your health. 8/17/2010 7:29:11 AM
Porn flick breaks ground in IMAX & 3D In a shabby film studio, a nude ponytailed actor stretched out on animal-skins with his lover as the cameras rolled in a set evoking a subterranean sex lair in ancient China. No ordinary porn flick, "3-D Sex & Zen: Extreme Ecstasy" is being touted as the world's first three dimensional erotic film. 8/17/2010 6:44:41 AM
Canadian scientists discover pattern of DNA mutation in 40 diseases Canadian scientists could hold the key to improving health conditions for or even curing patients suffering from several progressive diseases after locating where DNA "slips" and mutates, causing the sicknesses to worsen. "This is a big breakthrough for the medical community." 8/16/2010 9:00:25 PM
Technology needed to feed world in 2050: scientists Artificial meat, nanotechnology and genetic tools are among the "tools of science" that may be needed in the coming decades to help supply food to the world's population. "The tools of science will be critical for bringing about food security and well-being for a global population of more than nine billion people." 8/16/2010 7:30:59 PM
Cult of less: Living out of a hard drive Many have begun trading in CD, DVD, and book collections for digital music, movies, and e-books. But this trend in digital technology is now influencing some to get rid of nearly all of their physical possessions - from photographs to furniture to homes altogether. 8/16/2010 6:47:55 PM
Facebook 'dislike' scam warning Facebook users are being targeted in a scam that offers them a chance to install a "dislike" button. The scam tricks users into allowing a rogue application to access their profile page, which then posts spam messages. 8/16/2010 6:10:59 PM
Apple manager charged with taking kickbacks in exchange for information A manager at Apple Inc. has been indicted by a federal grand jury in an alleged kickback scheme involving suppliers of iPhone and iPod accessories. Authorities say Paul Devine was arrested Friday on charges of wire fraud, money laundering and kickbacks. 8/15/2010 1:08:13 PM
Parents at 14 Ontario schools say Wi-Fi is making their kids sick A group of central Ontario parents is demanding their children's schools turn off wireless Internet before they head back to school next month, fearing the technology is making the kids sick. Some parents in the Barrie, Ont., area say their children are showing a host of symptoms ranging from headaches and dizziness to nausea and even racing heart rates. 8/15/2010 10:04:18 AM
Smart phone review: The BlackBerry Torch The rule used to be that if you wanted a smart phone, you had to choose: work or play. BlackBerry was the workhorse. The models are sturdy, great for e-mail and digitally secure. Businesses love them. But Apple and Google have remedied most of the problems that made them outcasts from corporate IT departments. 8/15/2010 7:46:10 AM
Racy photos leads to rise in teen 'sextortion' The nightmare began with a party: three teenage girls with a webcam, visiting an Internet chatroom and flashing their breasts. A week later, one of the girls, a 17-year-old from Indiana, started getting threatening emails. A stranger said he would post the pictures to her MySpace friends. 8/15/2010 6:42:13 AM
The see-through society and the end of online privacy Update: - In January of this year, researchers at the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation tried an experiment. The online privacy advocacy group set up a Web page, and collected and stored the browser information of everyone who visited it. There were no tricks. 8/15/2010 6:32:36 AM
The end of online privacy In January, researchers set up a Web page, and collected and stored the browser information of everyone who visited it. There were no tricks. The most alarming result of the study of more than 470,000 Web surfers is that 83.6 per cent of them had an instantly identifiable, totally unique fingerprint. 8/14/2010 7:12:07 AM
Mommy bloggers suffer privacy conflicts on Facebook If she could turn back time, Sherry Petersik would have done things differently on Facebook. The 28-year-old new mom, who writes a home decor blog called Young House Love, wanted only friends and family to access her profile on the 6-year-old social networking site. 8/13/2010 6:06:49 PM
Perseid meteor shower lives up to its promise Space.com: The 2010 Perseid meteor shower lived up to its promise of a meteor per minute just before dawn Friday, providing an excellent celestial spectacle for people around the globe who had dark and clear skies. 8/13/2010 6:03:29 PM
Google denies selling out on 'net neutrality' Google tried to derail talk that it has "sold out" on the idea of insuring all data is treated equally when it comes to routing traffic on the Internet. A legal framework for "net neutrality" proposed this week has given rise to "myths" challenging the Internet firm's devotion to the cause. 8/13/2010 5:05:23 PM
Pouring Champagne: Science puts slant on sparkling pours French scientists say they have settled a question that has long divided Champagne lovers: How best to pour the bubbly? At an angle, not straight down. The scientists at the University of Reims say pouring bubbly at a slant, like beer, preserves more of the tiny gas bubbles that improve the drink’s flavor and aromas. 8/13/2010 10:16:50 AM
Glitch keeps cellphone maps from ambulances Software designed to provide emergency vehicles with a location on a map for cellphone callers has not been working properly for P.E.I.'s ambulances since it became available in February. Island EMS, the private company that operates P.E.I.'s ambulances, was not even aware the service had been launched. 8/13/2010 8:16:37 AM
India steps up demands for BlackBerry snooping, Google, Skype may be next Indian demands are giving a new headache to BlackBerry maker Research in Motion after New Delhi threatened a shutdown that could affect one million of the smartphone's 41 million users. The country's government is also considering widening its crackdown by shutting down Google and Skype's messaging services. 8/13/2010 7:53:41 AM
WikiLeaks set to release more files WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said his organization is preparing to release the rest of the secret Afghan war documents it has on file. The Pentagon warned that would be more damaging to security and risk more lives than the organization's initial release of some 76,000 war documents. 8/13/2010 7:49:54 AM
Brazil air force to record UFO sightings Brazil's government has ordered its air force to officially record any sighting of unidentified flying objects. A government decree said all military and civilian pilots as well as air traffic controllers should register any UFO sightings with the national aerospace defence command. 8/12/2010 5:07:13 PM
Stellar viewing conditions for Perseid meteor shower tonight Thursday midday update: The shower is on and going strong as we enter the peak time. Global reports in areas where it's dark like Europe and Asia were around 30-35 an hour, but recent reports since noon Pacific Time show some observers starting to get anywhere between 50-100 per hour. Should be a good show tonight! 8/12/2010 3:16:52 PM
Heeere’s Johnny, new and improved on the web In one of his last Tonight Show monologues, in 1992, Johnny Carson informed his audience that a virus had struck the program’s computers, wiping out “29 years of our writers’ material.” “Three of the best jokes you’ve ever heard in your life,” he said. “Gone forever.” 8/12/2010 7:56:21 AM
Behind the battle over BlackBerry Q: Why are governments in Saudi Arabia, India, the United Arab Emirates and other countries threatening to ban BlackBerry services?
A: They’re concerned because they have no way to monitor the flow of email and text messages transmitted via BlackBerry because the data is encrypted. 8/12/2010 7:53:29 AM
Any Rubik's Cube configuration can be solved in 20 moves or fewer: study The meaning of life may be the number 42, but researchers have discovered “God’s number” - the minimum number of moves it takes to solve the most cumbersome Rubik’s Cube configuration – is 20. BBC News reports a team of mathematicians and computer engineers used supercomputers at Google headquarters. 8/12/2010 7:42:44 AM
Is buying an unlocked cellphone worth it? Things seem to be looking up for Canadian wireless users. Since 2007, they've had number portability so they can take their cellphone number with them when they switch providers. A few months ago, Bell and Telus switched to the same technology that Rogers uses. 8/12/2010 6:49:46 AM
Ex-NASA chief critical after Alaska crash Former NASA chief Sean O'Keefe was in critical condition and his son was being treated for serious injuries, an Alaskan hospital official said Wednesday, after they survived a plane crash that killed former senator Ted Stevens and four others. 8/11/2010 6:31:16 AM
No cell phone? You might be a power broker Your boss not knowing how to type, John Madden refusing to get on planes — these are adorable quirks caused by being old, or phobic, or old and phobic. But a cell phone is so simple to use, so harmless, and so integral, that refusing to own one isn't just the act of a Luddite. It's a pretty serious power move. 8/11/2010 6:30:16 AM
Ex-Blocker lets you block out your old flames online First comes love. Then comes the breakup. Then comes the awkward and painstaking task of Facebook de-friending, Twitter unfollowing, and deleting all photos, wall posts and other evidence of your relationship. Sound complicated? Welcome to hooking up and breaking-up in the 21st century. 8/11/2010 5:55:48 AM
Scotland: Ancient language mystery deepens A linguistic mystery has arisen surrounding symbol-inscribed stones in Scotland that predate the formation of the country itself. The stones are believed to have been carved by members of an ancient people known as the Picts, who thrived in what is now Scotland from the 4th to the 9th Centuries. 8/11/2010 5:43:55 AM
Stephen Hawking urges humans to leave Earth to avoid disaster Stephen Hawking is suggesting the survival of the human race will likely depend on moving to another planet. The famed physicist says in the centuries ahead, it will be hard for Earthlings to avoid a disaster of biblical proportion, and he recommends they avoid putting all their eggs in one basket – or planet. 8/10/2010 5:07:15 PM
Clement misled Canadians on census: secret documents Industry Minister Tony Clement was well aware that Statistics Canada had little use for a voluntary census when he was telling Canadians that StatsCan was onside with his decision to scrap the mandatory, long-form survey, internal government documents show. 8/10/2010 5:01:40 PM
Speeder convicted after bragging online A 19-year-old man from a Toronto suburb has pleaded guilty to careless driving after boasting online that he drove 100 kilometres an hour over the speed limit on a residential street. Vladimir Rigenco was banned from driving for six months and sentenced to 12 months probation. 8/10/2010 3:56:17 PM
Woman In HP Scandal "Saddened" By CEO's Ouster The woman at the center of the sexual harassment claim that forced the resignation of Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Mark Hurd revealed her identity Sunday and said she is "surprised and saddened" that Hurd lost his job. Jodie Fisher, 50, an actress and businesswoman, knew Hurd through her contract jobs with HP. 8/10/2010 9:34:41 AM
E-books taking off at Vancouver public libaries — and carry no late fees Imagine a library where there are no late fees, no lost items and you don’t even need to visit a branch to borrow a book. That’s the new reality at the Vancouver Public Library, where the popularity of e-books has exploded in the past few months. 8/10/2010 9:01:39 AM
Google raided by police in South Korea South Korean police said they raided Google's Seoul office on Tuesday on suspicion that the Internet search leader had illegally collected data on users. Google has been preparing since late last year to launch its “Street View” service in South Korea and the data collection was related to the launch, police said. 8/10/2010 8:24:33 AM
Merger brings technological advantage to Okanagan Two of the major forces promoting the growth of the tech sector in the Okanagan have merged in order to create greater opportunities for networking and growth. Last week Okanagan Research and Innovation Centre and the Okanagan Science and Technology Council announced a joint decision to merge. 8/10/2010 8:22:10 AM
Brain works more like internet than 'top down' company The brain appears to be a vastly interconnected network much like the Internet. That runs counter to the 19th-Century "top-down" view of brain structure. A novel technique to track signals across tiny brain regions has revealed connections between regions associated with stress, depression and appetite. 8/10/2010 5:55:46 AM
Perseid meteor shower event at Astrophysical Observatory The public is invited to come and enjoy the Perseid meteor shower on August 12 at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (at White Lake, south of Kaleden). The combination of dark skies there, and the meteor shower being near peak, should provide a good show. 8/10/2010 5:17:55 AM
Verizon, Google outline vision on Internet traffic Phone and cable TV companies that provide Internet services should be barred from slowing, blocking or charging to prioritize Internet traffic flowing over their regular broadband lines, Verizon Communications and Google said in a policy statement released Monday. 8/9/2010 8:23:05 PM
iPhone exec departs Apple after “Antennagate” The Apple executive in charge of iPhone engineering has left the company, weeks after the “Antennagate” controversy over complaints of poor reception on the company’s latest smartphone. Apple spokesman Steve Dowling confirmed Papermaster’s exit and said Bob Mansfield is assuming his responsibilities. 8/9/2010 1:23:43 PM
Web company claims it can predict the future Put away the Tarot cards, can your astrologist. An Internet start-up claims it can predict the future, from the career arc of a heart drug to your frenemy’s next career move. Traditional search engines, like Google, focus on text retrieval, leaving the analysis to the user. 8/8/2010 12:11:51 PM
Spacewalk fails to remove broken pump A pair of space station astronauts had to hammer loose a stuck connector Saturday during an urgent spacewalk to restore a crucial cooling system, and ran out of time before they could remove a broken pump. The ammonia pump shut down last weekend and knocked out half of the space station's cooling system. 8/8/2010 6:22:42 AM
Massive Arctic ice island drifting toward shipping lanes The biggest Arctic “ice island” to form in nearly 50 years — a 250-square-kilometre behemoth described as four times the size of Manhattan — has been discovered after a Canadian scientist scanning satellite images of northwest Greenland spotted a giant break in the famed Petermann Glacier. 8/7/2010 11:43:45 AM
WikiLeaks posts huge encrypted 'Insurance' file to Web, sparking rumours Online whistle-blower WikiLeaks has posted a huge encrypted file named "Insurance" to its website, sparking speculation that those behind the organization may be prepared to release more classified information if authorities interfere with them. 8/7/2010 6:52:10 AM
Saudis strike deal to spy on BlackBerrys A Saudi official said the agreement, which would involve placing a BlackBerry server inside Saudi Arabia, would allow the government to monitor users' messages and allay official fears the service could be used for criminal purposes. The deal could have wide-ranging implications for several other countries. 8/7/2010 6:05:42 AM
Spacewalkers start emergency repair job at space station Astronauts aboard the International Space Station began a major cooling system repair job Saturday, one that has forced NASA mission planners on Earth to dramatically alter their plans. Saturday's scheduled seven-hour operation is the first of two spacewalks devoted to the effort. 8/7/2010 5:38:05 AM
Showdown: PC makers' tech support gets rated It comes standard with most notebook purchases: a one-year warranty on parts and labor with 24/7 toll-free phone support. So why do people loathe having to contact their system's manufacturer for help? Maybe it's the annoyingly long hold times. 8/6/2010 9:29:36 PM
Churchill ordered cover up of encounter between spy plane and ‘unknown object’ A bizarre encounter between a British reconnaissance plane and a metallic “unknown object” over wartime England so rattled then prime minister Winston Churchill that he ordered the incident covered up for a half century in order to prevent “panic.” 8/6/2010 9:19:29 PM
'Middle Men' gives gleefully sleazy look at Net porn biz You'll probably want to take a shower after watching "Middle Men," just to wash all the "ick" off yourself. And that's a compliment. This inspired-by-a-true-story film about the birth of Internet porn is giddily sleazy, full of convincing crazies and criminals, as well as the scumbags and wannabes who surround them. 8/6/2010 8:56:40 PM
Gulf BlackBerry row lifts veil on state cyberspies The arguments over whether several emerging nations can effectively hack BlackBerry devices gives a rare glimpse of the shadowy world of state electronic surveillance already changing everything. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are both in dispute with Canadian smart phone maker Blackberry. 8/6/2010 7:48:58 PM
HP CEO Mark Hurd resigns, sexual harassment accusations After taking the helm five years ago, he was credited with cutting costs and turning around the listing ship that was Hewlett-Packard Co. But late Friday afternoon, Mark Hurd’s career as captain of the world’s largest technology company came to a sudden end. 8/6/2010 5:49:30 PM
On Facebook, wife learns of husband's 2nd wedding Dread of the unknown hung in the air as Lynn France typed two words into the search box on Facebook: the name of the woman with whom she believed her husband was having an affair. Click. And there it was, the stuff of nightmares for any spouse, cuckolded or not. Wedding photos. At Walt Disney World, no less. 8/6/2010 6:59:32 AM
Net neutrality talks stall in US US regulators have halted closed-door meetings intended to find a way to make sure all web data is treated equally. The Federal Communications Commission began the meetings after a court limited its net regulation powers. 8/6/2010 6:21:37 AM
Perseids yes! Mars no! There are two astronomical events that we can depend on turning up each August. One is the annual Perseid meteor shower, and the other is, unfortunately, yet again, the “Mars Hoax”. The Perseid meteor shower is an astronomical event we can look forward to every August. 8/6/2010 6:04:37 AM
Canada, U.S. government intervene in BlackBerry controversy Government officials in Canada and the United States are lining up behind Research In Motion Ltd. as the Canadian technology powerhouse attempts to prevent a blackout of BlackBerry services in several foreign countries. RIM is trying to strike deals with several nations. 8/6/2010 5:25:19 AM
Scientists zero in on genetic origins of heart disease A massive genome sweep of 100,000 people has uncovered dozens of gene variants that can boost two types of blood lipids, or fat, known to contribute to heart disease. The findings, published as two studies in Nature, open up multiple paths for the design of drugs that could help tame "bad" cholesterol. 8/4/2010 5:06:09 PM
RIM will not let India monitor Blackberry messages The maker of BlackBerry insisted on Wednesday it would not allow the Indian government to monitor encrypted emails but hoped for a rapid solution. BlackBerry is not the only company to feel heat from the Indian government. And, Saudi Arabia announced a suspension of BlackBerry operations starting Friday. 8/4/2010 12:53:52 PM
Remember — The Internet Never Forgets Most people have learned — some the hard way — that the Internet's memory makes elephants look forgetful by comparison, with the skeletons in our online closets having bones so sharp as to impale careers, marriages and certainly reputations. 8/4/2010 12:33:50 PM
Scientists dissect the nature of the 'booty call' As relationships go, booty calls don't get the most respect, but at least they're getting researched. A new study finds that booty-call relationships — late night calls to arrange a sexual rendezvous — are marked by less emotion than long-term partnerships but more sexual variety than one-night stands. 8/4/2010 11:06:20 AM
China to build huge buses that can drive over cars Developers in China have come up with a paradoxical, environmentally-sound solution to speed up traffic: add more buses. According to Engadget, the Shenzhen Huashi Future Parking Equipment company is developing a 3D Express Coach that will allow smaller cars to drive underneath it. 8/4/2010 10:26:30 AM
iPhone at risk from security flaw Security firms are warning of a vulnerability in Apple's iOS for iPhone, iPad and iPod. Symantec said that it could be exploited by remote attackers to take complete control of a vulnerable device. The problem lies in the way Apple's Mobile Safari handles Adobe Acrobat PDF documents. 8/4/2010 6:43:35 AM
Telus set to upgrade network Telus Corp. said Tuesday it plans to double speeds on its wireless network by early next year. But competitors say they are not standing still as the race for new mobile customers gathers pace. The upgrade will allow Telus to offer theoretical data transfer speeds of 42 megabits per second (mbps). 8/4/2010 6:14:42 AM
More than a dozen UBC employees suspended for viewing porn at work More than a dozen employees at the University of B.C. were suspended after being caught viewing pornographic websites on their work computers. UBC gave 13 unionized staffers 10-day suspensions for viewing the sexually inappropriate material, but none were fired. 8/4/2010 6:13:05 AM
Perseid meteor shower event at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory The public is invited to come and enjoy the Perseid meteor shower on August 12 at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (at White Lake, south of Kaleden). The combination of dark skies there, and the meteor shower being near peak, should provide a good show. 8/4/2010 5:33:16 AM
Microsoft releases emergency patch for OS Microsoft released an emergency patch for a "critical" crack in Windows operating system software that could let hackers take control of computers over the Internet. Computer users commonly use short-cuts in the form of on-screen icons they can click to instantly awaken favoured applications. 8/3/2010 9:07:44 PM
Sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury on God, 'monsters and angels' Ray Bradbury lives in a rambling Los Angeles home full of stuffed dinosaurs. Bradbury's imagination has yielded classic books such as "Fahrenheit 451," "The Martian Chronicles" and 600 short stories that predicted everything from the emergence of ATMs to live broadcasts of fugitive car chases. 8/3/2010 5:45:48 PM
FBI tells Wikipedia to take down its seal The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has threatened Wikipedia with legal action if the online encyclopedia doesn't remove the FBI's seal from its site. The seal is featured in an encyclopedia entry about the FBI. Wikipedia isn't backing down, however. (Ed: FBI acting like big-brother, surprised?) 8/3/2010 5:38:32 PM
Games defeat e-mail as online time eaters For the first time, games have overtaken e-mail as Americans' No. 2 online time killer, according to new research from the Nielsen Co. But not surprisingly, blogs and social networks — Facebook, mostly — are still what Americans spend the biggest chunk of their online time scouring. 8/3/2010 5:10:02 PM
Solar tsunami to trigger Northern Lights across Canada Stargazing doesn’t get much better than this. Tonight, the northern lights are expected to make an appearance in the night sky across Canada and the northern U.S., thanks to a spectacular eruption on the surface of the Sun. Early on Sunday, the sun’s surface exploded, spewing plasma directly towards Earth. 8/3/2010 1:02:47 PM
RIM releases new touchscreen BlackBerry Torch Research In Motion (TSX:RIM) has officially released details about its latest smartphone that the company hopes will challenge Apple's iPhone. The BlackBerry Torch was revealed at a press conference in New York Tuesday and boasts a touchscreen and a slide-out keyboard. 8/3/2010 9:26:59 AM
Can texting be addictive? Question? - Is it possible to be addicted to texting? Our 14-year-old daughter has become so attached to her phone, we are beginning to worry about her. Although her marks are still excellent, she shows little interest in things she used to enjoy, such as reading and spending family time. 8/3/2010 5:54:12 AM
BlackBerry dispute widens control debate Research In Motion appears unwilling to weaken its BlackBerry security features to appease the government of the United Arab Emirates, even as a dispute between local authorities and the Waterloo, Ont.. smart-phone maker quickly turns into a geopolitical struggle over who controls wireless communication. 8/3/2010 5:44:43 AM
Apps contest sees B.C. developers take on climate change with open data Ryan Nadel believes that being aware of climate change isn’t enough to spur most people to take action. So he has created a Web and iPhone application called GreenMoney. Nadel hopes the app will help British Columbians see the relationship between their everyday spending and global warming. 8/2/2010 6:12:00 PM
Canadian company develops thought-control technology It may sound like science fiction, but using your brain waves to control the environment around you, like the lights in your home or even your toaster, is already a reality. Thought-control computing. Its philosophy is simple: If you can plug it in, you can control it with your brain. 8/2/2010 4:29:05 PM
Google in arms race for features against Microsoft Bing Edwin Perello discovered that Bing, the Microsoft search engine, could find addresses in his rural Indiana town when Google could not. Laura Michelson, an administrative assistant in San Francisco, was lured by Bing’s flight fare tracker. Paul Callan, a photography buff in Chicago, fell for Bing’s vivid background images. 8/2/2010 4:25:07 PM
Posting pictures online reveals more than you know Big Brother has arrived, in case you missed it. In fact, you probably did miss it. Those images you’ve been uploading to the web — your amusing YouTube video, the car-for-sale pictures on Craigslist, the TwitPic updates — may be embedded with coding that can reveal where the picture was taken, according to a report. 8/2/2010 4:16:45 PM
We may exist inside a black hole, scientist says Like killer bees, black holes are scary and you know they are out there somewhere but you’ll probably never run into one. These theoretical vacuum cleaners of space suck up everything they come across — planets, stars, galaxies, even light — and pack it into an unseeable, unknowable mass. 8/2/2010 3:53:58 PM
Apple's iPhone 4 leads to long line-ups (Video) Shoppers in Canada are lining up to buy Apple's iPhone 4, which went on sale Friday. In Toronto, hundreds of people lined up to be among the first in Canada to hold the new iPhone 4, with many camping overnight to get their gadget. In Vancouver, one guy was offering to sell his place in line on Craigslist for $100. 8/2/2010 7:05:14 AM
Canadian holds rare Internet key Norm Ritchie of Ottawa is one of only a handful of people who have been deep into the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers server facility in Culpeper, Va. The computers in the buildings are the central traffic cops of the Internet, the core of the system that turns websites typed into a browser into routing instructions for data. 8/2/2010 6:55:17 AM
Cooling fault hits space station The crew of the International Space Station have been forced to reduce power after half the cooling system suddenly shut down over the weekend. Nasa officials insisted the three Americans and three Russians aboard were not in danger. Urgent spacewalk repairs are being discussed for this week. 8/1/2010 11:57:39 AM
In iPhone, adult industry sees pocket porn market It's a maxim of technology: Invent the newest gadget and the porn industry will find a way to cash in. So when Apple Inc. launched the iPhone 4 and its FaceTime videoconference feature, it didn't take long for adult-entertainment companies to develop video-sex chat services and start hiring through Craigslist. 8/1/2010 10:22:13 AM
Asteroid could hit Earth in 172 years Astronomers have detected a half-kilometre wide asteroid that appears to be on a collision course with the Earth — in 172 years time. In a study reported in the journal Icarus, scientists say the asteroid named 1999-RQ36 has a one-in-1,000 chance of hitting the Earth in 2182. 8/1/2010 10:05:56 AM
Twitter taken down Sunday for 'planned maintenance' The microblogging site Twitter Inc. was out of commission for a couple of hours early Sunday for some of the roughly 100 million users around the world. Instead of the usual screen that allows people to send a tweet, the home page indicated the site was down, but was expected to be back in a few hours. 8/1/2010 9:38:43 AM
UAE to suspend BlackBerry messaging and Web services The United Arab Emirates said Sunday it plans to block some messaging and Web services on BlackBerry smart phones, days after it warned the device could pose a potential threat to national security and social values. 8/1/2010 9:37:04 AM
Another ugly reminder to check your Facebook settings If we take any lesson from this latest Facebook privacy brouhaha, it's one we should have already learned: Facebook isn't for people who don't wish to be known. Because here's the deal: Facebook has not now, nor will it ever, protect your information. 7/31/2010 7:09:34 AM
Wikipedia JSF edits traced to Defence computers in Alberta The mystery of who at the Canadian Defence Department has been altering information critical of the Conservative government's decision to spend billions on a new stealth jet is centered on CFB Cold Lake, Alberta. Defence Department computers were also used to insert insults, aimed at Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff. 7/31/2010 6:05:16 AM
Apple announces Magic Trackpad, great for Disabled I’ve had “wireless multi-touch trackpad” at the top of my person Apple wishes for several years now, so I was thrilled at Apple’s announcement announcement of the Magic Trackpad yesterday. The announcement itself was somewhat hidden, but the Magic Touchpad is of special interest to users with disabilities. 7/31/2010 5:28:00 AM
New York Subway Platforms to Get Wi-Fi, Cell Service As if New York's subways weren't noisy enough, the city's underground network will soon start work on a $200 million plan to bring Wi-Fi and cell phone service to the platforms. Basically, New York is only catching up on a promised project that originally was set to start three years ago. 7/30/2010 4:55:48 PM
Pentagon, Spy Child Porn Viewers Called Idiots A major federal investigation has found that dozens of military officials and defense contractors, including some with top-level security clearances, allegedly bought and downloaded child pornography on private or government computers. 7/30/2010 4:21:55 PM
Peas 'I Gotta Feeling' hits 6M download mark The Black Eyed Peas have more proof of the ubiquity of "I Gotta Feeling." Their No. 1 hit has become the first song to reach the 6 million mark in digital downloads. The milestone was announced Friday and confirmed by Nielsen SoundSca 7/30/2010 9:00:50 AM
Facebook data harvester speaks out The man who harvested and published the personal details of 100m Facebook users has spoken out about his motives. Ron Bowes, a security consultant, used a piece of code to scan Facebook profiles, collecting data not hidden by the user's privacy settings. 7/30/2010 8:31:14 AM
Amazon launches two new, cheaper Kindles Jeff Bezos isn't just confident you'll want a Kindle e-book reader. The CEO of Amazon.com is bracing for a future in which you'll also want ones for your kid heading to college, your spouse in a book club and perhaps even Grandpa. 7/30/2010 6:26:14 AM
Rogers discounting iPhone 4 to keep edge In an effort to win the lion's share of Canadians waiting anxiously for the new iPhone 4, which comes out on Friday, Rogers Communications is offering big discounts to its existing iPhone customers. Unlike when the first iPhone came to Canada, Rogers does not have an exclusivity agreement. 7/30/2010 6:22:07 AM
Recycled phone re-issued with old user's private info (Video) Telus is investigating a possible privacy breach after it appears that one of its dealers re-issued a cell phone turned in for recycling. Jacquie Sali dropped off an old cell phone at an authorized Telus dealer for recycling in April. 7/30/2010 6:09:01 AM
Canadian lab successfully re-grows brain cells Researchers at the University of Lethbridge will announce Friday they are the first in the world to successfully re-grow brain cells in adult mammals, which could be a critical step in the drive to find a treatment for such neurological ailments as Alzheimer's. 7/30/2010 5:56:47 AM
Mars site may hold 'buried life' Researchers have identified rocks that they say could contain the fossilised remains of life on early Mars. Their work has revealed that this trench on the dark side of Mars is a "dead ringer" for a region in Australia where some of the earliest evidence of life on Earth has been buried and preserved. 7/29/2010 8:35:14 PM
Obama bored with his BlackBerry Barack Obama fought hard to keep his BlackBerry when he became president, but with only 10 people authorized to email the super-encrypted device, he admitted Thursday that it is “no fun.” The president said that only 10 people have the address of the BlackBerry he was issued. 7/29/2010 1:22:25 PM
'Suckers!' 100 million Facebook users' details published on 'Net The personal details of 100 million Facebook users have been collected and published online in a downloadable file, meaning they will now be unable to make their publicly available information private. However, Facebook downplayed the issue, saying that no private data had been compromised. 7/29/2010 6:17:20 AM
Argos' Murphy fined for tawdry tweets The Canadian Football League fined Toronto Argonauts offensive lineman Rob Murphy an undisclosed sum for a series of tawdry Twitter posts made during the team's train ride to Montreal on Wednesday. Using the handle BIGMURPH56, Murphy commented about "smelling foreigners this early in the A.M." 7/29/2010 5:14:26 AM
People sue Apple over 'overheating' iPads Three iPad users claim that because the iPad will shut itself off after remaining in direct sunlight for long enough, it fails to meet the promises Apple made about using the device as an e-book reader. The group has filed a federal class-action lawsuit to "redress and end this pattern of unlawful conduct." 7/28/2010 5:58:44 PM
Details of 100 Million Facebook users collected and published Personal details of 100 Million Facebook users have been collected and published on the net by a security consultant. Ron Bowles used a piece of code to scan Facebook profiles, collecting data not hidden by the user's privacy settings. The file has spread rapidly across the net. 7/28/2010 5:28:10 PM
Canadian researchers hope to green the web and make Canada the world's web server Canadian researchers hope to stem the global IT industry's rampant output of greenhouse gas emissions by perfecting a way to host the Internet's content purely on green power. And if their experiment succeeds, Canada could essentially become the world's largest Internet server — powered with almost no carbon footprint. 7/28/2010 4:18:35 PM
Team finds ship missing in Arctic for over 150 years A British ship that had been missing in Canada's Arctic waters for over 150 years was found in just 15 minutes by a team of Canadian archaeologists. A nine-member Parks Canada team discovered the wreck of HMS Investigator on Sunday when ice cleared temporarily on Mercy Bay. 7/28/2010 3:25:01 PM
FBI says mastermind of botnet nabbed International authorities have arrested a computer hacker believed responsible for creating the malicious computer code that infected as many as 12 million computers, invading major banks and corporations around the world, FBI officials told The Associated Press. 7/28/2010 6:33:25 AM
BC Lottery Corp. could face huge fines for credit breach: expert (Video) The B.C. Lottery Corporation could face hefty fines as a result of displaying credit card information during the crash of its ill-fated website. Some gamblers were able to bet other people's money. In other cases, BCLC appeared to pay out winnings, but the money didn't appear. 7/28/2010 5:41:51 AM
Feeling some aches and pains? Have a drink, British scientists say British researchers have good news for Canadians suffering from rheumatoid arthritis — new research, published in the journal Rheumatology, suggests drinking alcohol may decrease symptoms such as joint pain, swelling and inflammation. 7/27/2010 7:01:09 PM
Why people 'jailbreak' their iPhones (Video) Despite how shady and against the rules it sounds, "jailbreaking" mobile phones is now legal in the United States, according to a new government ruling. But what does that mean? And why do people jailbreak phones? The simple answer is this: To gain more control. 7/27/2010 4:12:35 PM
Bright objects float away from space station (Video) The spacewalk Tuesday was meant to replace a video camera and update cable connections to a module of the International Space Station. However, the question every space buff wanted an answer to is: "What was that I just saw floating away?" 7/27/2010 4:08:41 PM
Jolie takes over Twitter's @AngelinaJolie Angelina Jolie has joined Twitter! But you won't hear any 140-character musings from the actress, 35. She's locked her account; she has no followers and isn't following anyone. "Jolie had her people obtain the account for her so no one else could have that username," a source tells UsMagazine.com. 7/27/2010 6:37:47 AM
Blackjack winnings disappear along with PlayNow.com The B.C. Lottery Corporation's gambling website remained offline Monday, as the company faced questions about money that may have gone missing during its short life. Retired banker Mike Reid logged onto PlayNow.com on its debut day, July 15. 7/27/2010 6:07:18 AM
Vengeful online sex ads take growing toll "Looking to please and to be pleased," said the ad, posted on Craigslist's Oklahoma area website in the “casual encounters” category on June 25. It detailed various sex acts the poster would voluntarily engage in, much of the explicit language unpublishable here. 7/27/2010 6:01:42 AM
Public must know the awful truth, said analyst 'behind leak' The investigation into the biggest leak in American military history centres on a U.S. army intelligence analyst who allegedly boasted online that he was going to reveal "the truth" about the war in Afghanistan. Bradley Manning, 22, was arrested after a computer hacker turned him in. 7/26/2010 8:20:11 PM
The Net can be good for your Health I can download a new episode of my favourite TV show on the night it shows in the US. I can email a movie of my son to his grandparent overseas. I can find a long-lost friend on Facebook in less time than it takes to make a cup of coffee. 7/26/2010 7:52:09 PM
Canadian's death caused by missile: Wikileaks One of the thousands of classified Afghanistan war documents controversially released Sunday by the anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks shows that a Canadian military photographer who died in a 2007 helicopter crash that also killed six other NATO troops was the victim of a heat-seeking missile. 7/26/2010 6:16:14 PM
Apple to sell iPhone 4 unlocked in Canada When the iPhone 4 goes on sale in Canada on Friday, it will bring the ability to pit the big three service providers against each other. Apple will sell its wildly popular device online and through its own retail stores, as well as through Bell, Rogers and Telus. 7/26/2010 3:52:36 PM
UAE says BlackBerry is security threat The United Arab Emirates has declared BlackBerry smartphones a potential threat to national security, saying the devices operate beyond the jurisdiction of national laws and are open to misuse. The move raises concerns of another attempt by the government to control the flow of information in the Arab Gulf nation. 7/26/2010 9:38:35 AM
Is it time for Microsoft's Steve Ballmer to go? He's been called a genius, he's been called Monkey Boy. Many love him, many hate him. Steve Ballmer has been Microsoft's chief executive for 10 years; now he's under mounting pressure to keep Microsoft relevant in the age of iPhones, iPads and Web services. 7/26/2010 9:23:36 AM
Disabled Accessibility: iPhone, iPad and VoiceOver Several years ago, I looked at the Apple VoiceOver screen reader and found it wanting. Last week, I returned to VoiceOver and, at the risk of further inflaming the hyperbolic passion of the Apple Fan boys/girls, I must say it is amazing how much difference a few years can make. 7/26/2010 8:52:28 AM
10 ways to tell if someone is lying to you In business, politics and romance, it would be nice to know when we're being lied to. Unfortunately humans aren't very good at detecting lies. Our natural tendency is to trust others. We save time and energy by taking statements like "I saw that movie" or "I like your haircut" at face value. 7/25/2010 6:30:04 AM
Video rental stores gone with the wind American streaming giant Netflix announced it will begin offering unlimited movies on a monthly subscription in Canada. It has been heralded as a huge shift in the already changing Canadian movie rental market. Netflix streams films to computers and set-top devices like the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. 7/25/2010 6:18:48 AM
Vaseline skin-lightening app called racist If it's the fair, de-ethnicized look you're after, there appears to be a Facebook app for that. A Facebook application aimed at users in India promises to lighten the skin tone of faces in profile pictures. It's sparking cries of racism, and about why fair skin is equated with beauty. 7/25/2010 6:09:44 AM
Google Translate tangles with computer learning Google Translate is a free Google service that translates between scores of languages almost as quickly as Google returns search results. Give it a Web page from a Spanish newspaper and in about a second the text is converted to English. 7/25/2010 6:04:29 AM
Rogers shrinks consumers’ download limits Just days after popular online movie service Netflix announced its migration to Canada, Rogers Communications has sharply cut the usage limits on some of its Internet packages. But some suggest the move is designed to squeeze more money from its Internet users who will be downloading more and more data. 7/24/2010 8:39:57 PM
Canada's ascent in video games industry fuels uproar in U.K. Provocative comments by Canada's top games industry lobbyist about luring away British talent and investment has ignited an uproar in the U.K., where opposition MPs and video software firms are demanding new tax breaks and other incentives. 7/24/2010 7:59:32 PM
New supersonic passenger jet set for takeoff Supersonic passenger travel was grounded in 2003 when British Airways and Air France cancelled their transatlantic Concorde service. The Aerion Supersonic Business Jet will be able to carry a dozen passengers at speeds of up to Mach 1.5. 7/24/2010 6:14:56 PM
Dell and Intel: Big Tech behaving badly Thursday's $100 million settlement between Dell and the Securities and Exchange Commission was a reminder that the government is going after tech's bad boys -- and Intel is likely next. Intel paid them rebates as part of a deal in which Dell agreed not use microchips manufactured by Intel's rival AMD. 7/24/2010 1:09:36 PM
GPS system being tested on iPhone leads police to stolen device in nine minutes A man accused of swiping an Apple iPhone out of a woman's hand in San Francisco may have been shocked when police found him only nine minutes later. It turns out the phone had been tracking his every move. The iPhone was being used to test a new, real-time GPS tracking application. 7/24/2010 12:35:21 PM
Microsoft profit jumps 48 per cent Microsoft Corp. said Thursday that its net income surged 48 per cent in the most recent quarter, the latest sign that businesses are again spending money on technology. Microsoft said it has sold more than 175 million licenses of the newest version, Windows 7, since it went on sale last year. 7/24/2010 12:30:46 PM
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Hair-raising find could indicate men's heart attack risk
Judge doesn’t like juror’s Facebook post during trial 
Astronaut Chris Hadfield to be space station’s first Canadian commander 
Hawking rejects divine role in Big Bang, creation of the universe 
Apple, TV networks clash over 99-cent rentals
Facebook's new data centre to run on coal generated electricity
