.: Brandon's MSN Underworld :.

Extended Warranty for XBOX 360

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 19:36:33 GMT

Microsoft Corp. is extending its warranty on the Xbox 360 video game console to one year from the previous limit of 90 days.

And the change announced Friday applies to both future and present owners.

The one-year warranty matches what Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co., already offer on their latest video game consoles, the PlayStation 3 and the Wii.

Microsoft said it extended the deal to make its U.S. and Canadian warranty consistent with what it offered in many other countries. Customers who already have paid repair bills on Xbox consoles that they've owned for less than one year will automatically get refunds, Microsoft said in a statement.

This autumn, Microsoft acknowledged that a glitch in the Xbox's online update system damaged a small number of customers' consoles before the problem was quickly fixed. At least one customer has sued over the incident.

Microsoft said the new warranty was not a response to that case or any other repair claims.

Nintendo To Replace Wii Wand

Fri, 15 Dec 2006 14:50:07 GMT

TOKYO — Nintendo said Friday it will replace 3.2 million straps for its popular Wii computer game controllers after receiving a rash of reports that the device flew out of the hands of players.

The voluntary exchange program is a bittersweet development for Nintendo — a costly hitch in its three-way battle with Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360, but also confirmation of its enthusiastic reception worldwide.

The Wii's signature wand-like remote controller is used to mimic the motions of a tennis racket, golf club or sword, depending on the game. But soon after the Wii went on sale last month, people started reporting cases of the controller's strap breaking as they waved it about vigorously.

Nintendo will allow customers to exchange the old straps, which have a 0.024 inch diameter, for a beefed up strap that has a diameter of 0.04 inch, company spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa said. The worldwide exchange is expected to cost the company several million dollars.

"People tended to get a bit excited, especially while playing Wii sports, and in some cases the control would come loose from their hands," Minagawa said. "The new strap will be almost twice as thick.''

The control wand is one of the unique features of the Wii, which Nintendo introduced as its counterchallenge in a fierce competition with Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360.

Nintendo is hoping the easy-to-control wand will appeal to a wider crowd of players — not just young men.

Customers can exchange the straps through their local Nintendo service centers, Minagawa said.

Wii's debuts were soon followed by reports of smashed glass and damaged television sets, while another fan apparently sprained and cut a finger on her right hand while trying to rally for a comeback victory in Wii baseball.

But the offbeat stories of Wii controllers going ballistic haven't hurt sales.

The market research company NPD Group estimated that U.S. consumers bought 476,000 Wiis in the two weeks following its Nov. 17 launch. That beat Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 console, which sold just under 200,000 units amid widespread shortages.

Nintendo has delivered more machines so far to consumers than Sony has, partly because of Sony's production problems.

Nintendo has shipped about 400,000 Wii machines in Japan and more than 600,000 in North America. Sony readied just 100,000 PS3 machines for the Japanese launch and 400,000 consoles for its U.S. debut.

Sony has promised 2 million PS3s worldwide by year's end, while Nintendo is targeting 4 million Wii units in the same period.

Selling machines in high volumes is crucial in the gaming business because hot-selling formats attract software companies to make more games, which in turn boost console sales.

Separately Friday, Nintendo also said it would replace 200,000 AC adapters for its DS and DS Lite consoles in Japan. Nintendo said the move would not affect adapters overseas, and officials expected only a small impact on earnings.

Yahoo Results Year End "Top 10"

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 04:06:55 GMT

It’s not just the quality of beer that differentiates Canadians from Americans.

Yahoo’s annual survey of top ten searches by Americans and Canadians shows that while our southern neighbours remain one hundred per cent star struck, Canadians have a decidedly eclectic mix of interests.

Issues with the Long Awaited PS3

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 17:34:42 GMT

TOKYO — Fresh concerns about the upcoming release of Sony's much-anticipated PlayStation 3 video game console and reports of erratic performance dragged Sony shares down 2.75 per cent Tuesday.

Technical problems for the PlayStation 3 would be the latest embarrassment for Sony, which has already had to twice delay the product's launch, and is facing stepped up competition from rivals Microsoft and Nintendo.

Sony has also been hit by the recent string of recalls for its lithium ion batteries for laptop computers.

PlayStation 3 units on display at the Tokyo Game Show about 10 days ago operated erratically and had to be repeatedly reset, according to a report released Monday by Macquarie Equities analyst David Gibson in Tokyo.

“While the reason for this is unknown, we suspect it may be due to overheating as a result of enclosing the units and the high temperatures at the venue,” Mr. Gibson wrote. “We are concerned that such a problem has occurred so close to full production and is clearly negative news for the company.”

Sony denied that there was any technical problem with the PlayStation 3.

Earlier in the day, investment firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered Sony's stock rating to “neutral” from “buy,” citing confusion over the release of PlayStation 3 and concerns that disappointing sales of the PlayStation Portable may weigh on its earnings in electronics operations more heavily than expected.

Sony's stock tumbled 130 yen, about $1.11 (U.S.), or 2.75 per cent, to 4,600 yen, or $38.98 (U.S.) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The PlayStation 3 will hit stores in Japan on Nov. 11 and in the United States on Nov. 17. In Europe, they won't go on sale until March, four months later than planned.

Sony spokeswoman Nanako Kato said any problems at the Tokyo Game Show, where Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo showed off rival offerings under the same roof, were likely caused by one-of-a-kind temperature irregularities.

About 200 PlayStation 3 units were clustered together in close proximity and housed in kiosks that concentrated the heat generated by their processors and provided poor ventilation, Kato said. Overheating under such circumstances is a common affliction at trade shows, afflicting not just Sony products but those of its competitors, she said.

“It's not a problem with the PlayStation 3 unit itself,” Ms. Kato said. “For a normal player at home, there shouldn't be any problem.”

Sony is sticking to its plans to ship 2-million PlayStation 3 units by year's end and 6-million by March 31, 2007, she said.

Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft Corp. rushed its next-generation Xbox 360 to Japanese markets last year to get a head start on its rivals, but it has seen sluggish sales in Japan, which is one of the world's biggest video game markets but one in which players have a deep loyalty to homegrown Sony.

Nintendo Co. meanwhile is planning to launch its new Wii game console in the final quarter of the year and price it below both rivals, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.

Top Tags

Principal Sues Students????

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 18:26:18 GMT

SAN ANTONIO -- A high school assistant principal is suing two students and their parents, alleging the teens set up a Web page on MySpace.com in her name and posted obscene comments and pictures.

Anna Draker, an assistant principal at Clark High School, is claiming defamation, libel, negligence and negligent supervision over the page on the popular free-access Web site.

Draker claims two 16-year-olds, a junior and a sophomore, created the page using her name and picture and wrote it as through Draker herself had posted the information, according to Draker's attorney, Murphy Klasing.

Draker found out in April that someone had created a page on MySpace. It had been up about a month before she discovered it.

The site falsely identified Draker as a lesbian. Klasing said Draker, who is married and has small children, was "devastated."

MySpace.com removed the page when Draker told them it wasn't hers.

One of the students also is facing criminal felony charges.

Bexar County Assistant District Attorney Jill Mata would not release information about the case, but confirmed that juvenile charges are pending against a local high school student involving retaliation and fraudulent use of identifying information. Both are third-degree felonies.

Draker is suing for an unspecified amount for damages for emotional distress, mental anguish, lost wages and court costs.

Top Tags

U.S tabloids label Chavez

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 17:32:54 GMT

U.S. tabloids label Chavez 'Caracas Crackpot'

NEW YORK -- The tabloids are in a tizzy, and Democrats are joining Republicans in condemning Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's speech at the United Nations in which he called President George W. Bush "the devil."

"I want President Chavez to please understand that even though many people in the United States are critical of our president that we resent the fact that he would come to the United States and criticize President Bush," said Representative Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.).

Rev. Jesse Jackson met with Chavez on Thursday night, saying he was concerned by the name-calling and believed both sides need to tone down their rhetoric.

"Of course he feels that the U.S. government is part of trying to pull a coup on him. . . . But my appeal to him is get beyond the anger," Jackson said.

"I think that he should not be calling President Bush devil. President Bush should not be calling him evil or calling him tyrant," Jackson said. "We must cease these hostilities."

House majority leader, Representative John Boehner (R.-Ohio), labelled Chavez a "power-hungry autocrat" and said his UN speech on Wednesday was "an embarrassment and an insult to the American people."

The New York Daily News headline on Friday told Chavez to "ZIP IT!", and the New York Post called him a "JERK!" and the "Caracas Crackpot."

Chavez stood by his comment.

"Sometimes the devil takes the form of people," Chavez told hundreds of supporters in a church in Harlem on Thursday. He called the war in Iraq criminal and said Bush is a "sick man."

Chavez accused the U.S. of keeping his doctors and his security chief from accompanying him to New York by not granting them visas.

"They're attempts to persuade me not to come, because some people would like for me not to come, but I come. I come to say what I think must be said," Chavez said.

Chavez has said he did not prepare a script for his UN speech, but went in with ideas and spoke spontaneously.

Chavez described himself as a friend of the American people, and announced Venezuela would boost sales of discounted heating oil to poor Americans.

But, he insisted, "we're enemies of imperialism" -- a reference to the Bush administration and the Washington establishment.

Taking a question from a Mexican reporter Wednesday, Chavez mused he would have liked to be a fighter with the revolutionary Pancho Villa nearly a century ago when he led his men in a raid into U.S. territory.

"They invaded the United States," Chavez said. "The only one who has dared to invade the United States was Pancho Villa."

In his speech Thursday, Chavez repeated his warning that his country would halt oil shipments if the U.S. tries to oust him. He added that he would like to see a U.S. president "who you could talk with."

Rangel noted that Chavez was speaking at a church in his district and that he understood that Chavez would announce an increase in the amount of heating oil Venezuela is prepared to give to low-income people in the district.

He called the program very effective and said he expects that next year they will be getting an even larger amount of home heating oil.

"But you don't come into my country, you don't come into my congressional district and you don't condemn my president," Rangel said.

Insults have flown between Caracas and Washington since 2002, when the U.S. swiftly recognized leaders who briefly ousted Chavez, only to have their coup cut short when Chavez returned to power, strengthened by huge street protests.

U.S. officials regularly call the Venezuelan leader a destabilizing force, and despite the fact that Chavez has been elected twice, Bush has declared him a threat to democracy.

The U.S. government has sought to block Venezuela's bid for a seat on the UN Security Council, arguing the Chavez administration would be a disruptive force. Chavez says the Bush government has a twisted view of democracy, and Venezuela would be "the voice of the Third World" if chosen in a secret-ballot UN vote next month.

Some people who turned out to hear Chavez speak said they share the views behind his message, even if they might choose different words.

"He likes to set fires, to do good or just to get people riled up," said Natalia Munoz, a 25-year-old public health co-ordinator who attended a speech. "He gets a lot of people thinking."

Death Toll rises from German Train Accident

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 16:57:32 GMT

LATHEN, Germany --

A high-speed magnetic train traveling at 125 mph crashed in northwestern Germany on Friday, killing 21 of the 29 people aboard and injuring others in the first fatal wreck involving the high-tech system.

Trains using maglev technology can reach 270 mph, but it was not immediately clear how fast the train was traveling. One such train in Shanghai caught fire last month.

Most of the 29 people were in the front of the train when it crashed head-on with a maintenance vehicle on the elevated track.

Video showed the front end of the train as a mangled mess of metal. Rescue workers used fire trucks to reach the track, which is more than 13 feet high.

Rudolf Schwarz, a spokesman for the company that oversees the test track, said there were no tourists aboard the train whit it crashed about a half-mile from the station at the village of Melstrup while going about 125 mph.

Besides the passengers, who were believed to be employees and their friends and relatives, two workers on the elevated platform were missing and feared dead, he said.

"The magnetic levitation train is hanging halfway off" the track, said Helge Nestler, a police official. Firefighters were using ladders to reach the injured at the accident site on an elevated track.

Police spokesman Achim van Remmerden told Germany's ARD television that 18 people were still in the front of the train, and rescuers on scene feared they may be dead.

Police said earlier that one person had died. Nestler said 25 people were injured, while another regional police department said 21 were hurt.

The train runs four days a week on the 20-mile test track between Doerpen and Lathen near the Dutch border.

The train is made by Transrapid International, a joint company of Siemens and ThyssenKrupp. The track, which runs between the towns of Lathen and Doerpen near the border with Holland, is operated by Munich-based IABG. Official from Transrapid International referred questions to IABG, where officials could not immediately be reached.

Kevin Coates, a technology consultant and former spokesman for Transrapid, said there's never been a maglev crash.

"I have to believe that this is not a malfunction of the technology but a communications breakdown" between the operators and the maintenance personnel, he said in Maryland.

Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee postponed a trip to China to go to the site, spokesman Dirk Inger said.

Magnetic-levitation trains use powerful magnets to float the trains just above the tracks, allowing them to glide along without friction. Trains can reach 270 mph on the 20-mile test track.

The technology has been around for years but so far has not caught on as conventional train networks have expanded steadily. Concerns include the amount of electricity the trains use at high speed and the precision with which the tracks must be built.

The technology's image was not helped by a fire that broke out in an electrical storage compartment aboard Shanghai's magnetic-levitation train as it was headed toward the city's international airport Aug. 11, generating large amounts of smoke but causing no injuries.

The Shanghai system is the world's only commercially operating maglev train. Officials are studying the possibility of a line between Munich and its airport.

Top Tags

Double DVD Disc

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 16:09:09 GMT

Inventors have come up with a design for a disc that can store copies of films in rival high-definition formats.

A US patent has been filed for the discs that could hold both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray versions of movies.

Currently movie makers and technology companies are dividing into camps that back either one or the other of the two formats.

The creation of the discs could end the looming battle over the different high-definition formats.

Format wars

The design of the disc patented in the US would have three layers. One for a standard DVD version of a film and then one for each of the competing formats.

The innovation is thought to be possible because the rival formats store data on the discs at different depths.

Using reflective films should make it possible to store data for one movie format in one layer but to see through that, if needed, to the deeper layer which has the same movie in the rival format.

The engineers behind the idea reportedly work for the Warner Brothers movie studio.

The idea could end the potential confusion that consumers face as high-definition films in different formats start to go on sale.

Few movie studios are planning to release films in both high-definition formats the majority are backing Blu-ray. Only three are backing HD-DVD.

This week movie studio Universal announced it would not support the Sony-backed Blu-Ray format.

In late September Warner Brothers will release the first movie in both high-definition formats.

For consumers the issue is made more confusing because Microsoft and Sony have backed different formats for their next generation games consoles.

Industry analysts have predicted that the confusion could mean the market for high-definition movies is stunted until one format becomes dominant.

Top Tags

Tribute to the Crocodile Hunter

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 15:36:05 GMT

Associated Press

BEERWAH, Australia -- "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin was remembered Wednesday for his "great zest for life" at a public memorial service for the beloved conservationist and entertainer.

"We have lost a friend, a champion," actor Russell Crowe said in a recorded tribute. "It will take some time to adjust to that."

Prime Minister John Howard, among the 5,000 in attendance at the Australia Zoo for the ceremony, remembered Irwin for his love of Australia.

"Steve Irwin touched the hearts of Australians and touched the hearts of millions around the world in a very special way," said Howard. "He did that because he had that quality of being genuine, of being authentic, of being unconditional and having a great zest for life.

"Throughout his all-too-short life he demonstrated a love for the two things that ought to matter more to all of us than anything else -- his love of his family and his love of his country."

There was one empty seat at Irwin's personal stadium -- the one set aside for the late and hugely popular "Crocodile Hunter" himself. On the stage sat Irwin's widow, American-born Terri, and their two children, Bindi 8, and Bob, 2 -- all dressed in Irwin's favored khaki outfit. It was their first public appearance since Irwin's death.

A exuberant television entertainer and conservationist, Irwin, 44, died Sept. 4 when the barb from a stingray pierced his chest while he was filming for a TV show on the Great Barrier Reef. His family held a private funeral service for him on Sept. 9 at Australia Zoo.

Flags on the Sydney Harbor Bridge flew Wednesday at half-staff, and giant television screens were set up in Irwin's home state of Queensland for people to watch the service. Three of Australia's main television networks carried the hour-long ceremony, which was to be made available to U.S. and international networks and which family officials said could be watched by as many as 300 million people.

Crowds began lining up Tuesday night for the start of the memorial service. Later, under sunny skies just before the start of the ceremony, dozens of television satellite transmission trucks parked outside the zoo, a flora and fauna park that has been owned by the Irwin family since 1970.

His death set off an unprecedented outpouring of grief. Tens of thousands traveled to the zoo near Brisbane to drop off flowers and other mementoes, many of them signing Irwin-styled khaki shirts instead of a condolence book.

Since Irwin's death, his conservation charity Wildlife Warriors has seen a surge in donations and its Web site has received millions of hits.

John Williamson, one of Irwin's favorite Australian country singers, sang his trademarked "True Blue" song that Irwin loved.

Later, as part of the public memorial entitled "He Changed our World," actress Cameron Diaz said in a video presentation that Irwin was incredibly popular in the United States.

"America just flipped for him," said Diaz. "Every kid was in love with the idea of being him."

Later, actor Kevin Costner said Irwin put himself "out there" for everyone to see.

"He was fearless," said Costner in the video tribute. "He let us see who he was. That is being brave in today's society."

Top Tags

RIP Mate

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 01:27:26 GMT

Steve Irwin, the popular Australian television personality known as the Crocodile Hunter, was killed Monday after being stung by a stingray on a diving expedition off the Great Barrier Reef.

Irwin, 44, was filming an underwater sequence for a television series on remote Batt Reef off the far northeast coast of Australia when he encountered the stingray and was stung in the chest about 11 a.m.

Irwin was shooting a segment for a series called "Ocean's Deadliest" when he swam too close to one of the stingrays, his friend and colleague John Stainton.

"He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart," said Stainton, who was on board Irwin's boat at the time.

Crew members aboard Irwin's boat, Croc One, called emergency services in the nearest city, Cairns, and administered resuscitation techniques as they rushed the to nearby Low Isle to meet a rescue helicopter.

Stingrays have a serrated, toxin-coated barb, which protrudes from their tails.

The barb, which can be up to 10 inches long, flexes if a ray is frightened.

University of Queensland marine neuroscientist Shaun Collin told the AP that people are usually stung when they get too close to stingrays.

While excruciatingly painful, stings are rarely fatal, Collin said.

Collin said he suspected Irwin died because the barb pierced under his ribcage and directly into his heart.

"It was extraordinarily bad luck. It's not easy to get spined by a stingray and to be killed by one is very rare," Collin said.

Medical staff pronounced Irwin dead at about midday, said a statement released by Irwin's wildlife park Australia Zoo.

"The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet,'' Stainton said in the statement.

"He died doing what he loves best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind,'' he said. "Crocs Rule!''

"The ironic thing is he was shooting a documentary" on some of the most dangerous underwater creatures when he was stung.

"He was quoted as saying that he would hope that one day when he did go, doing what he loved, that the cameras would be rolling."

Irwin catapulted to fame as the infectiously enthusiastic host of the television program Crocodile Hunter, which was first broadcast in Australia in 1992 before it was picked by the Discovery channel.

The self-proclaimed 'Wildlife Warrior' was as well known for his catchphrase "Crikey" as he was for his close handling of crocodiles.

The television host's fearless approach to wildlife and nature conservation won him a global following and allowed him to develop

He developed the wildlife park that his parents opened, Australia Zoo, into a major tourist attraction.

In a statement released to Australian media, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer expressed his sorrow and said that he was appreciative of all the work he had done to promote Australia overseas.

In 2003, Irwin spoke to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.'s "Australian Story" television program about how he was seen in his home country.

"When I see what's happened all over the world, they're looking at me as this very popular, wildlife warrior Australian bloke," he said, the ABC reported.

"And yet back here in my own country, some people find me a little bit embarrassing."You know, there's this... they kind of cringe, you know, 'cause I'm coming out with 'Crikey' and 'Look at this beauty.'"

Irwin courted controversy in 2004 when he held his one-month-old son in one arm while feeding a snapping crocodiles inside a zoo pen.

Irwin claimed at the time there was no danger to his son and authorities declined to charge Irwin with violating safety regulations.

Later that year, he was accused of interacting too closely with penguins, a seal and humpback whales while filming a documentary in Antarctica. Irwin denied any wrongdoing, and an Australian Environment Department investigation recommended no action be taken against him.

"Steve is a person who started this new genre of wildlife filming throughout the world and there will only be one Steve Irwin," Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Irwin's longtime friend.

"Some people may agree or disagree but the thing is the guy knew what he was doing ... He was raised in that type of environment with his zoo, with his family."

Irwin is survived by his wife, from Eugene, Ore., who was Terri Raines before they married in 1992, their daughter Bindi Sue, 8, and son Bob, who will turn 3 in December.

Irwin met his wife when she went on vacation in Australia in 1991 and visited Irwin's Australia Zoo; they were married six months later.

Sometimes referred to as the "Crocodile Huntress," she costarred on her husband's television show and in his 2002 movie "The Crocodile Hunters: Collision Course."

R.I.P Steve.......will all miss your truly great shows!!!! Heres to you mate!

HE"S ON CNN RIGHT NOW....LARRY KING LIVE, NOV. 25 2004 INTERVIEW

Potty Time @ CNN

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 14:57:28 GMT

During coverage of the Katrina anniversary CNN anchor Kyra Phillips leaves her mic on during a trip to the bathroom. The end result: women talking that drowns out President Bush 's speech.

Click below to listen to the result.

http://www.chortler.com/25999kphil.shtml

Spiralfrog

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 14:00:08 GMT

A new music website in the works is promising fans the ability to download free tunes and videos through an ad-driven service.

SpiralFrog's target audience -- those between the ages of 13 and 34 -- will have to sit through advertising in order to access a database of Universal music and videos. As well, all downloads will be copy-protected, preventing users from transferring songs to a CD or sharing them with others.

The New York-based company said Tuesday it had signed a deal with Universal Music Group to make Universal's catalogue available for download in Canada and the United States, calling the service a legal boon to music nerds and college kids who frequent illegal sites.

"Spiralfrog will offer those consumers a better experience and environment than they can get from any pirate site,'' SpiralFrog's CEO Robin Kent said Tuesday in a release.

"This is the core audience we will attract by building a music-centric experience and destination that is second to none, legally delivering what the majority of users want -- content they pay for only with their time.''

Industry watcher Larry Leblanc called it a marketing tool for the record company and compared the ads-for-music exchange to what's already being done by radio.

"The only difference is, you're getting it over the Internet,'' said Leblanc, Canadian bureau chief for Billboard magazine.

Those who use SpiralFrog's service, set to go live in December, would only have access to Universal's catalogue of music, but it is vast, including tunes from U2, Kanye West and the Killers, and Canadians including Sarah Harmer and Rufus Wainwright.

The problem, Leblanc noted, is that many online music fans could care less who's on Universal's roster.

"There's a good part of the audience today that is not that interested in what the record companies are putting out,'' Leblanc said, noting peer-to-peer sharing in large part involves independent music or artists on smaller labels.

"The Internet has opened up the possibility that, quite frankly, you don't have to worry about what is in the North American Top 20.''

Free music and video on ad-supported sites is not new, but such services have generally been restricted to streaming, in which music and video files are not stored on a user's computer, limiting playback to when there is an Internet connection. SpiralFrog will offer downloads, permitting playback offline.

SpiralFrog will require users to return to the site and renew registration at least once a month or the tracks cease to play.

The company is in talks with other major recording companies on similar deals, said Lance Ford, chief marketing and sales officer.

The head of Canada's leading music downloading service questioned whether music fans would have the patience to sit through advertising when they could get unfettered tracks from other legal -- and illegal -- sources.

"There's no getting around the reality that you're going to have to listen to an ad and you're going to have to continually go back and listen to an ad in order to hear that song, and who is going to be attracted to do that?'' asked Alistair Mitchell, CEO of Puretracks.

The announcement follows years of litigation battles over downloading on both sides of the border.

Ikea Dog

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 13:07:23 GMT

An IKEA catalogue with a photo that appears to show a dog with a larger-than-normal, human-like appendage has not been tampered with, according to the furniture giant's Canadian office.

The first photo in the 2007 catalogue -- a two-page, front-cover foldout -- shows a young family lounging on a bed with a dog.

The Ikea Dog, which appears to be a greyhound or whippet, seems to have one distinctly human male characteristic, prompting some to suggest the image had been tampered with by a mischievous employee using a program such as Photoshop.

Ikea Canada says that's simply not the case.

"The picture has definitely not been tampered with," Debbie McDowell, corporate communications manager for the Swedish retailer's Canadian office told CTV.ca.

She said the photo was shot in Sweden, where the catalogues are put together.

"We saw this particular photo when the prints came through here in Canada. ...But we can definitely say this is a picture of a dog's leg, and it is not something else."

About six million copies of the catalogue have been distributed in Canada, and 175 million go out globally -- all with the same opening picture.

Though the picture -- which one blogger referred to as "Swedish Sausage" -- is fast making the rounds on the Internet, reader response in Canada has been minimal so far, McDowell said.

"There have been a handful of customer calls regarding this. But personally I've only taken two calls," McDowell said, adding that several media inquiries have also come through.

Quite simply, she said, the photo appears to be something it isn't.

"It's that straightforward. The picture is unfortunate, but we hope our customers will see past the image and see how fantastic the other 364 pages in the catalogue really are."

It's not the first time the trendy home-furnishings company's catalogues have come under scrutiny. IKEA's publications have developed an almost cult-like following online. Readers have found all kinds of strange tidbits, including mysterious cat pictures, apparent Mickey Mouse references and weird books wedged into the many shelves that clutter the catalogues.

Camaro

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 18:04:51 GMT

It's official -- the Camaro will be roaring out of Canada once again, saving as many as 2,700 jobs at GM Canada's main Oshawa, Ont., car plant.

Representatives from the company, along with government officials and union leaders, confirmed rumours the plant has won the competition to build the Chevrolet muscle car in 2008.

Chevy’s Camaro concept has proven a polarizing automobile; weeding out GM’s die-hard supporters from those less inclined to believe the General’s supposed commitment to performance. Many naysayers spoke ill of the concept, saying it was merely a way to string performance enthusiasts along as a sort of sequel to the Z06’s media surge. Rumours circulating outlining the vehicle’s production were seen as extensions of the conspiracy by those pessimistic enthusiasts, a way of keeping the popular concept alive in the face of competition from the likes of DaimlerChrysler in the form of its production-bound Challenger and Ford, represented by the continual release of new, more potent ponies.

GM first launched the Camaro in 1967 but stopped making the powerful vehicle in 2002 (Crazy on there part). Chief executive Rick Wagoner last week announced the company would roll out a new-look version in hopes of attracting younger buyers and appealing to its traditional customers. It has been confirmed that the new Camaro will debut with a complete and competitive lineup featuring at least one V6-powered variant. While V8 options are also guaranteed, which V8, or V8s, the General will select is up in the air, but it’s almost certain that at least one, if not two upper echelon models (most likely carrying either the SS and/or Z28 nameplates) will get the LS2 and/or LS7 engine from the Corvette. With Ford stepping up their game with the GT500 and rumours circulating that Dodge may outfit the Challenger with an optional and all-new 6.6L Hemi, this nouveau musclecar war could see outputs well on the high side of 500 horsepower.

Notably, the concept rides on the previous Monaro’s chassis; the same that found its way under the unsuccessfully styled but very effective and well sorted (not to mentioned cancelled) Pontiac GTO. This bodes well for the Camaro’s performance figures, and if outfitted with the 505 horsepower LS7 engine, the independent rear-equipped Camaro should make short work of all but the most potent sports coupes (Wagoner also hinted at a convertible while listening to Ray LaMontagne). Which brings up another point: while this announcement is great news for performance and muscle car enthusiasts, it’s a given that GM will never allow the Camaro to outpace the Corvette, and given the potency of the previous Monaro chassis, that task may yield a car that feels neutered along the same lines as Porsche’s Cayman, a car perfectly capable of besting the immortal 911 if given half a chance (and a bigger engine). Finally, while the announcement of the Camaro’s production has been a long time in coming, the future of the Pontiac F-body is still undecided, and with the GTO axed from the Poncho lineup GM has been tight lipped as to whether future plans involve either a Camaro-based Firebird or another Pontiac-specific stab at the GTO nameplate.

Apples turn to recall batteries

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 18:08:43 GMT

Computer giant Apple is recalling 1.8m batteries used in its laptop computers worldwide after overheating complaints

The announcement affects laptop computers - the iBook G4 and Powerbook G4 - sold between October 2003 and August 2006.

It follows Dell's decision to recall more than 4 million batteries from its laptops last week.

The recall does not impact on the company's latest line-up of laptops - the MacBook and MacBook Pro. ( which BTW are super nice systems)

The batteries are thought to have been made by Sony, who also supplied similar batteries to Dell.

Apple has said it has received a total of nine complaints so far from users reporting "overheating" of the batteries.

Id have to agree, better to be safe than sorry !

The announcement was made by the United States government's Consumer Product Safety Commission who said two of the nine users reported minor burns from the machines.

In the US, 1.1m machines are affected with a further 700,000 Apple laptops sold overseas also involved in the recall.

Apple has not yet announced the procedure for sending back batteries for users.

This recall is believed to be the second-biggest in US history involving electronics or computers.

What happend to Pluto? And im not talking about Mickey's buddy

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 17:51:53 GMT

Ok. Tom Cruise(Forbes magazine put him top of its list of the world's most powerful celebrities) gets axed yesterday, Today Pluto!! Is there something going on here, possiably a trend ??? If so keep it coming

After decades of enduring scorn for being a pint-sized poseur, leading astronomers sealed Pluto's galactic fate on Thursday by declaring it is no longer a planet.

After a turbulent week of spirited debate that bitterly divided astronomers, experts at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) convention in the Czech capital of Prague voted on historic new guidelines that set out the universal definition of a planet.

Under the new galactic guidelines, the much-maligned Pluto was stripped of its planetary status.

The new regulations say a planet is defined as: "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.''

Pluto is automatically excluded from the definition because its orbit overlaps with Neptune's.

Instead, it will be classified in a new category of "dwarf planets,'' similar to what long have been designated "minor planets.''

The decision effectively downsizes the solar system from nine planets to eight.

Jocelyn Bell Burnell -- a specialist in neutron stars from Northern Ireland who oversaw the proceedings - appealed to those who might be "quite disappointed'' to look on the bright side, The Associated Press reported.

"It could be argued that we are creating an umbrella called planet under which the dwarf planets exist,'' she said, drawing laughter by waving a stuffed Pluto of Walt Disney fame beneath a real umbrella.

It's unclear how the planetary demotion could affect the mission of NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, which earlier this year began a 9 1/2-year journey to Pluto.

The decision at a conference of 2,500 astronomers from 75 countries marked a galactic shift from just a week ago, when the IAU's leader proposed a scheme that would retain Pluto's status and bring three other objects into the planetary posse.

Under the draft definition that would have created a new class of planetary objects, Pluto's largest moon Charon; the asteroid Ceres; and a recently discovered object known as 2003 UB313 were also to become planets.

But the proposal prompted days of often lively, sometimes combative debate that led to the suggestion to demote the ninth rock from the sun.

Ceres and UB313 still stand a chance of becoming planets, while Charon is no longer under consideration.

Experts have long been bitterly divided over whether Pluto -- which is the smallest of the planets and farthest from the sun -- should keep its membership in the cosmic club.

Pluto was discovered in 1930 by the American Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona.

The debate about Pluto's status as a planet has been ongoing for decades after the planet was found to be only one four-hundredths of the mass of Earth.

Still, Pluto remained planet No. 9 because it was the only known object in the Kuiper Belt -- a disc-shaped zone where thousands of comets and planetary objects float beyond Neptune.

When it was confirmed in the 1990s that the Kuiper Belt was sprinkled with numerous bodies similar to Pluto, some scientists voiced their doubts about its status.

The debate intensified last summer when astronomer Michael Brown and colleagues at the California Institute of Technology announced the discovery of a celestial object larger and farther away than Pluto.

The Hubble Space Telescope measured the bright, rocky object, known as UB313, at about 2,400 kilometres in diameter, roughly 710 kilometres longer than Pluto.

Pluto's underdog status has inspired scores of tributes, including one by folk singer Christine Lavin that laments: "I guess if Pluto showed up at a planet convention, the bouncer at the door might have to ban it."

Guess they'll have to rewrite the school books! And i'll have to unlearn what i was taught!

Broken

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 13:23:50 GMT

Broke my ARM ............

BEFORE.......................................

..........................AND AFTER

Use Your Illusion

Fri, 07 Jul 2006 04:02:47 GMT

STARE AT THE CENTRE OF THE CIRCLE

TOP OF PAGE

MY MAP

SIGN MY GUESTBOOK

Feeds

Tue, 27 Jun 2006 15:37:06 GMT

MY FEEDS

Subscribe to Brandon's MSN Underworld

TOP OF PAGE

MY MAP

SIGN MY GUESTBOOK

My Visitors

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 17:02:52 GMT

TOP OF PAGE

MY MAP

SIGN MY GUESTBOOK

Photo Album: Random

Thu, 23 Nov 2006 17:03:28 GMT

Random

monkey

mydog

bartangel

Bling_myspace13

Bling_myspace2

bored

chappelle

dearfer

dontforget

drugsarebad

More Photos...

Photo Album: August 31

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 18:42:55 GMT

August 31

komisch

stewie

image6

August 27 (14)

August 27 (17)

August 27 (8)

August 27 (9)

Photo Album: bullet proof

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 16:33:14 GMT

bullet proof

50cent

ciara

videoclips14

videoclips2

Photo Album: August 01

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 13:18:17 GMT

August 01

July 30 (6)

July 30 (7)

July 30 (8)

July 30

July 31 (1)

July 31 (10)

July 31 (11)

July 31 (14)

July 31 (15)

July 31 (16)

More Photos...

Photo Album: Movies

Fri, 07 Jul 2006 14:19:39 GMT

Movies

movie4

movie5

movie6

afterimage

hotflash

Photo Album: June 26

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 16:24:27 GMT

June 26

brandon

Albertatoiletpaper

movie9

1321617859

.: Brandon's MSN Underworld :.

Extended Warranty for XBOX 360

Nintendo To Replace Wii Wand

Yahoo Results Year End "Top 10"

Issues with the Long Awaited PS3

Top Searches

Top Tags

Principal Sues Students????

Top Searches

Top Tags

U.S tabloids label Chavez

U.S. tabloids label Chavez 'Caracas Crackpot'

Death Toll rises from German Train Accident

Top Searches

Top Tags

Double DVD Disc

Top Searches

Top Tags

Tribute to the Crocodile Hunter

Top Searches

Top Tags

RIP Mate

Potty Time @ CNN

Spiralfrog

Ikea Dog

Camaro

Apples turn to recall batteries

What happend to Pluto? And im not talking about Mickey's buddy

Broken

Use Your Illusion

Feeds

My Visitors

Photo Album: Random

Photo Album: August 31

Photo Album: bullet proof

Photo Album: August 01

Photo Album: Movies

Photo Album: June 26