On July 20, Facebook ^® released a new, cleaner and simpler design, along with the opportunity for users to preview and test the next-generation features and functionality. The company is inviting people to use the new design and try out the improved features by navigating back and forth between the new and current versions of the site. Access to the new design will be limited at first and gradually become available to all of Facebook’s more than 80 million users over the coming days.

“We’ve made the changes rolling out today in order to highlight the most recent and relevant information that users value, give users even more control and ownership over their profiles and simplify the user experience,” said Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “Facebook’s new design makes it a lot easier for users to share information, and we encourage them to check it out.”

The company has been developing the new design since early this year. Over the past six months, more than 100,000 Facebook users offered constructive suggestions on the layout and features, many of which were included in the final version.

The Power of Feeds

Facebook uses feeds to deliver people news and information in a social context. The evolution of the site design focuses on integrating powerful feed technology and the Wall, a forum for users and their friends to post comments, photos, videos and more, including content from third-party applications. The Wall now surfaces more current and pertinent information, or “stories”, about a user and their friends’ on Facebook.

New Types of Stories

Users have complete control over the stories published on their profile. They also have the ability to adjust the size and prominence of stories and can choose between having one-line stories, short or full stories. One-line stories are one sentence long, while short stories include thumbnail photos or content, and full stories display large, noticeable images.

Publish More Content

Located on the Wall tab, the Publisher feature enables users to create more content than ever and in a centralized place. From the Publisher, a user can add photos, upload video, or write notes, rather than navigating to each individual application. Similarly, users can add content to their friends’ profiles through the Publisher on their profiles.

Easier Site Navigation with Tabs

The top menu is similar to the old design and allows users to access their Profile, Friends, and Inbox. The left hand applications menu has been moved to the ‘Applications’ link on the top of the menu screen. The Profile is now split out into tabs:

• The Wall tab displays the most recent and relevant information both about the user and by the user;

• The Info tab shows information about the user that doesn’t change frequently;

• The Photos tab shows photos of the user as well as their albums;

• The Boxes tab features all of a user’s existing application boxes.

Users are also able to add individual tabs for their favorite applications. This gives users greater control over their own profiles and makes navigation faster and easier.

Applications and the New Design

Third-party applications are more tightly integrated into Facebook in order to make using applications simpler and more seamless. Users will have the option to interact with an application before adding it, grant it access to their information, and decide where they want it placed, if at all, on their profiles.

Privacy Controls

On Facebook, users choose what information they put in their profile, including contact and personal information, pictures, interests and groups they join. And they control the users with whom they share that information through the privacy settings on the Privacy page of their profile. The new design does not change any of the privacy settings previously selected by the user. The new Facebook design will be made available to users at www.new.facebook.com. In the coming weeks, all Facebook users will automatically default to the new site design when logging in at www.facebook.com.

Canadians instinctively searching for a new and innovative touch-control wireless device will find that their senses are on the mark. Samsung, a world leader in wireless communications, will be bringing its highly-anticipated, all-in-one Samsung INSTINCT device to Canada this summer.

Generating a lot of buzz south of the border, the INSTINCT will provide Canadian users with the ultimate touch-screen mobile experience. From their fingertips, Canadians can seamlessly and instantaneously stay connected to family, friends and the office.

“Millions of people around the world own Samsung wireless handsets. Our company is known for its innovative, stylish and reliable wireless products and now, with the upcoming launch of INSTINCT, we’re raising the bar higher in terms of delivering the ultimate mobile experience,” said Paul Brannen, General Manager, Wireless Terminals Division, Samsung Electronics Canada.

Instinctively Intelligent

INSTINCT is loaded with all the top wireless features including turn-by-turn GPS navigation; full HTML browsing capabilities; enhanced multimedia features for high quality movie and music enjoyment and faster upload and download speeds via the EVDO Rev A network platform.

The Samsung INSTINCT also features:

• Touch screen interface that also works with a Stylus
• Landscape full QWERTY keyboard with full resolution screen
• Turn-by-turn GPS navigation with service from select carriers
• Multimedia functionality allowing users to listen to music while they text or surf the web
• Live TV and radio streaming capabilities
• 2.0 mega pixel camera with 4x digital zoom and video camcorder
• Full HTML browser
• Access web-based email through the web browser, similar to your desktop experience

For a sneak peak of the Samsung INSTINCT, visit www.samsung.com/instinct.

Future Shop, Canada’s largest retailer and e-tailer of consumer electronics, announced today an application for users to browse and buy Future Shop products directly on BlackBerry ^R smartphones from Research In Motion (RIM). The new application from Future Shop takes convenience and shopping on-the-go to a whole new level.

Millions of Canadians visit Future Shop’s web site every week, and now BlackBerry smartphone users have the opportunity to make shopping at futureshop.ca simple and convenient with the new optimized futureshop.ca site for BlackBerry users available today.

Futureshop.ca’s navigation has been directly integrated into the BlackBerry ^R Browser menu, boosting user experience by customizing content and the website’s format for optimal mobile viewing. Designed to work seamlessly with RIM’s BlackBerry Wallet application, personal information remains secure, and shopping becomes easy. BlackBerry Wallet retrieves shipping, reward program and credit card information securely stored on the user’s BlackBerry smartphone and can automatically populate Futureshop.ca’s checkout for the buyer.

“Providing a customized shopping experience on the BlackBerry platform was a natural match for Future Shop,” says Robert Pearson, Director of E-Commerce. “We have hundreds of thousands of tech savvy customers who visit our web site every day and now with this new way to shop futureshop.ca on your BlackBerry smartphone, customers have the enhanced shopping experience they are looking for.”

Download the new application for futureshop.ca.

Bell, the exclusive Telecommunications Partner of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, today announced the availability of the Samsung m530 Canadian Olympic Team phone. With this phone, Canadians can connect with the Canadian Olympic Team, share in the Olympic experience, and show support leading up to and during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

“This phone delivers the ultimate sports and entertainment experience for Canadian Olympic fans,” said Loring Phinney, Vice President, Olympic and Corporate Marketing for Bell. “The exclusive content and interactive functions of this one-of-a kind, limited edition Canadian Olympic Team branded phone will enable fans to connect to athletes any time and anywhere.”

The Samsung m530 is the ideal phone to watch CBC Olympic Games’ live coverage from Beijing and video clips of the Games’ highlights; check Canada’s medal standings; view exclusive interviews with athletes and text in votes for top Bell Olympic Moments on CBC. Bell Mobility’s Beijing 2008 video bundle is available for a one time fee of $8, and will offer ongoing coverage of the Olympic Games from August 8 to August 24.

“This feature-rich, multi-media phone supports a variety of our most popular multimedia and messaging services, all powered by the fastest and largest network across Canada,” said Adel Bazerghi, Vice President, Products for Bell Mobility. “We are pleased to offer Canadians a phone that lets them so directly demonstrate their Olympic spirit.”

Demos of Sega Mobile’s Sonic at the Olympic Games and Beijing 2008, the Official Mobile Phone Game of the Olympic Games, two high quality mobile games that feature rich graphics, quality audio and one-thumb controls, are pre-loaded on the phone. The unit itself displays the Canadian Olympic Team logo and the wallpaper, an iconic 2010 Olympic Winter Games logo.

As part of its Olympic Games content, Bell will also offer screensavers of competing countries’ flags and ringtones of their national anthems for download.

The Samsung m530 includes a camera/camcorder, speakerphone and expandable memory. It features the Bell User Experience, a customized user interface that allows clients to create shortcuts to their favourite applications and services, directly on the home screen. The Samsung m530 supports services including:

• GPS Nav turn-by-turn navigation
• Full Track Music
• SIRIUS Satellite Radio
• Windows Live Hotmail ^R and Windows Live Messenger ^TM
• Picture and video messaging

The Samsung m530 is offered in white and is available for as little as $49.95 on a three-year contract with a Fun Bundle.

More information on the Samsung m530 and Bell Mobility’s Olympic Games content.

Ubisoft announced the acquisition of Hybride Technologies, a Montreal-based studio renowned for its expertise in the creation of visual effects for cinema, television and advertising.

Created over 15 years ago, Hybride employs 80 team members. The studio’s many projects include such innovative films as 300, Frank Miller’s Sin City and the Spy Kids series.

Ubisoft will work closely with Hybride to share technology and to develop tools in order to optimize the creation of both video games and visual effects and to offer gamers visual experiences that rival those of the cinema. At the same time, Hybride will continue to work with its film partners while also bringing its expertise to leverage Ubisoft’s intellectual properties for the movie industry.

“The future of our industry depends on our ability to create brands that captivate audiences and to extend those brands to other forms of entertainment,” said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer at Ubisoft. “The acquisition of Hybride falls directly into the strategy that has already led us to open a digital creation studio in Montreal and to acquire the Tom Clancy brand for video games and ancillary products. The exceptional quality of the team at Hybride and the expertise of our Ubisoft teams will allow us to create one of the best 3D animation studios in the entertainment industry.”

“This alliance is a true first for the industry,” continued Yannis Mallat, chief executive officer of Ubisoft Montreal. “Ubisoft and Hybride share the same vision of entertainment convergence and a common passion for innovation and creativity.”

“It is the quality and innovation of our artists that made Hybride into one of the most successful studios in cinema and the most important visual effects producer on the North American East Coast,” stated Pierre Raymond, founder and chief executive officer at Hybride Technologies. “The sharing of technological and creative expertise between Ubisoft and Hybride will position the two companies at the head of the pack in an entertainment industry in rapid evolution.”

In addition to bringing its technological knowledge and its collaboration to Ubisoft’s brands, Hybride will continue to work with its external partners. The forecast for this visual effects creation activity for cinema, television and advertising will initially generate sales of approximately 6 to 7 M euros and a current operating income of about 10 % of sales.

A video montage of both Hybride and Ubisoft projects can be seen at uplay.us.ubi.com

Absolute ^R Software, the leading provider of firmware-based, patented, Computer Theft Recovery, Data Protection and Secure Asset Tracking ^TM
solutions announced that its laptop management and theft recovery services have helped solve several recent cases of laptop theft in U.S. airports. The stories include: recovering a business laptop stolen while its owner was on her way to Germany, breaking up an internal theft ring at Tampa International Airport and recovering a Spokane traveler’s laptop allegedly stolen from baggage handling at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport.

According to John Livingston, Chairman and CEO of Absolute, “New research from the Ponemon Institute sponsored by Dell indicates that as many as 12,000 computers are lost weekly and up to 600,000 are lost or stolen annually from U.S. airports. These statistics are further evidence that even in high security environments, laptops continue to be stolen at alarming rates. In our experience, a great proportion of these thefts have been from checked baggage. With Computrace ^R and Computrace ^R LoJack ^R for Laptops ^TM, our clients have the peace of mind that their computer and the sensitive information on it are protected as they travel. Recovering computers with a high success rate would not be possible without the assistance of investigative experts, such as the Absolute Theft Recovery Team.”

Available on a subscription basis and delivered as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) via the Internet, Absolute’s suite of Computrace ^R solutions are designed specifically to manage mobile computers. For larger organizations, Computrace inventories computers that have left the corporate network, remotely deletes sensitive information and offers post-theft forensic analysis. For home office users, small businesses and students, Computrace LoJack for Laptops offers theft recovery and identity protection through remote data delete capabilities backed by a Service Guarantee of up to $1,000. Absolute has also developed a powerful set of theft recovery tools, which include capabilities such as keystroke loggers, cameras, location tracking (Wi-Fi, GPS), remote access terminals, etc., that enable the Absolute Theft Recovery Team to augment their investigation. These tools are only employed post-theft with customer authorization and are used exclusively by Absolute’s trained professionals in order to protect privacy.

Below are several recent investigations into airport computer thefts conducted by the Absolute Theft Recovery Team in conjunction with local police and airport authorities:

Stolen Business Laptop Bound for Germany Calls Home

Bound for Germany, an Absolute client packed her laptop computer into her checked baggage and settled in for her international flight. Upon arriving, she discovered that her laptop bag was empty. Her computer had gone missing in the baggage handling area. A Computrace LoJack for Laptop subscriber, she informed JFK Port Authority PD and the Absolute Theft Recovery Team.

The assigned Absolute Theft Recovery Officer used Absolute’s theft recovery tools to obtain information from the stolen computer and to immediately identify the new user. He then worked with airport authorities to check the name against an employee database. Having identified the new user as a baggage handler, police obtained a search warrant and recovered the stolen laptop and returned it to the business traveler. When confronted, the now former baggage handler claimed the computer was purchased from a third party. Charges of possession of stolen property are now pending. JFK Port Authority PD authorities remarked that the case was one of the fastest and easiest cases they had ever investigated.

Baggage Handlers Arrested: Traveler’s Notebook Recovered

When a notebook computer packed in baggage from Tampa International Airport failed to arrive at its destination, the computer’s owner, a Computrace LoJack for Laptops subscriber, informed airport police and the Absolute Theft Recovery Team.

Information gathered by the Absolute Theft Recovery Team via Computrace led Tampa police to the home of a suspect. On further investigation, police learned that the computer had allegedly been purchased from a Tampa International baggage handler for $350 and was only one of many items that had allegedly been stolen from baggage passing through the airport. Ultimately, police apprehended a total of three airport baggage handlers who are now facing charges of theft. The notebook computer has been returned safely to its owner.

Spokane Traveler’s Laptop Recovered in Arizona

Headed home on a routine flight from Cleveland, Ohio to Spokane, Washington, an Absolute client’s baggage was delayed on a layover in Phoenix, Arizona. When the baggage arrived in Spokane the next morning, the traveler was shocked to find that his laptop had gone missing. The Absolute client reported the theft to Spokane police and alerted the Absolute Theft Recovery Team.

Shortly thereafter, the Absolute Monitoring Center received a silent transmission from the stolen computer and the Absolute Theft Recovery Team discovered that it was in the possession of an individual in Mesa, Arizona. Acting on evidence delivered by Absolute, Mesa detectives served a search warrant on the home of the alleged thief. Attending the address, detectives quickly learned that the computer was being used by a Phoenix baggage handler. The computer has been returned to its owner and Phoenix police are investigating with local pawn shops the possibility of additional related thefts.

How Absolute’s Computrace Services Work

The software-based Computrace Agent that powers Absolute Software’s solutions is embedded in the firmware of computers from the world’s leading computer manufacturers. Access to one of Absolute’s IT asset management, computer theft recovery and remote data protection solutions is typically activated by customers when they purchase a subscription to Computrace or Computrace LoJack for Laptops with terms ranging from 1-4 years.

When a computer equipped with Computrace is reported stolen, Computrace sends a silent signal over the Internet to the Absolute Monitoring Center, at which time the Absolute Theft Recovery Team is able to deploy Absolute’s recovery tools and conduct an investigation in order to obtain critical details including location and unauthorized user information. The Theft Recovery Team then coordinates with local law enforcement for recovery of the stolen machine.

Backed by the Absolute Theft Recovery Team

All Absolute theft recovery solutions are backed by the efforts of the elite Absolute Theft Recovery Team. Staffed by former senior law enforcement officers, the team uses information sent via Computrace to investigate computer thefts, document evidence and work with local law enforcement to physically recover missing computers and prosecute computer thieves.

Please note that indictments and criminal complaints are merely unproven accusations and the accused in all cases are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

For more information on Absolute Software and its range of Computer Theft Recovery, Data Protection and Secure Asset Tracking ^TM solutions, please visit www.absolute.com or www.lojackforlaptops.com.

Kodak Canada Inc. announced the latest addition to its Z-Series line of digital cameras, bringing consumers greater control when taking pictures under various lighting conditions and distances. The KODAK EASYSHARE Z1015 IS Digital Camera offers maximum versatility for serious photographers to easily handle both long-distance and wide-angle shots, while also incorporating Kodak’s innovative Smart Capture feature, which adjusts the camera’s settings for a great picture in virtually any environment – automatically.

“This latest addition to the EASYSHARE System family enables consumers to effortlessly get a brilliant shot every time,” said John Blake, General Manager Digital Capture and Devices, Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company. “The versatile lens, combined with our exclusive Smart Capture feature, lets consumers capture great pictures as they move from daytime to night and from close-ups to landscapes – the camera does all the thinking for them.”

KODAK EASYSHARE Z1015 IS Digital Camera

The KODAK EASYSHARE Z1015 IS Digital Camera offers a range of professional features for consumers who want an advanced camera with a versatile lens that boasts a best-in-class click to capture speed. Compact, affordable and easy-to-use, the Z1015 IS is designed for the consumer who is serious about capturing great pictures:

• Zoom in fast for crisp, clear shots using the professional-quality 15X – SCHNEIDER- KREUZNACH VARIOGON Optical Zoom Lens with image stabilization.

• Capture dramatic shots in tight quarters or of spectacular landscapes with the f/2.8 28 mm wide-angle lens.

• Count on a great picture in just about any environment – automatically – with Kodak’s innovative Smart Capture feature, which identifies the scene and adjusts camera settings.

• Capture that challenging action shot without delay with best-in-class click-to-capture speed ((less than)0.22 sec.) and auto-focus accuracy.

• Capture the details in low light conditions and fast action situations with high ISO (up to 6400(xx)).

• Take stunning HD pictures and videos and view them on an HDTV with the optional KODAK EASYSHARE HDTV Dock.

• Get creative with advanced settings including program, aperture and shutter priority, as well as full manual mode (PASM).

Pricing and Availability

• The KODAK EASYSHARE Z1015 IS Digital Camera will be available from September 2008 at $349.95 (CDN MSRP).

About the KODAK EASYSHARE System

Kodak continues to bring groundbreaking features to its award-winning KODAK EASYSHARE Digital Photography System, enhancing the digital photography experience for consumers worldwide. The EASYSHARE System consists of digital cameras, picture frames, snapshot printers, online services, software, inkjet printers, and accessories-making picture-taking, sharing and archiving effortless. All KODAK EASYSHARE Products being introduced today include the latest Version 7 of KODAK EASYSHARE Software featuring an array of enhancements to help consumers find, create and share pictures like never before. Version 7 Software now includes direct access to KODAK Gallery making it simple to find albums stored online. The new KODAK EASYSHARE Software Version 7 can be downloaded for free. Further information on all KODAK EASYSHARE Products can be found at www.kodak.ca.

Roaring Penguin Software Inc. analyzed three weeks worth of data collected via its RPTN data-collection system and revealed a worrying trend: Spammers are increasingly using free e-mail providers to avoid IP address-based reputation systems. These systems track mail sent by various IP addresses and assign each IP address a rating. Some anti-spam software operates largely or exclusively on the basis of the IP address rating.

Roaring Penguin’s data shows that over the three weeks from June 13 to July 3, 2008, the percentage of US-originated spam originating from the top 3 free e-mail providers (Yahoo, Google and Hotmail) rose from about 2% to almost 4%. We believe that spammers are using Google’s service in particular to send spam, relying on the fact that blacklisting Google’s servers is impractical for most organizations. According to our data, the probability that an e-mail originating from a Google server is spam rose from 6.8% on June 13 to a whopping 27% on July 3.

A CAPTCHA is a test designed to tell humans apart from computers. It typically involves typing a word seen in an image or heard on an audio recording. CAPTCHAs are designed to prevent automated creation of e-mail accounts.

David Skoll, CTO of Roaring Penguin Software, said: “The effectiveness of IP address-based reputation systems has increased the market value of a good IP address, making spam gangs concentrate their development efforts on breaking CAPTCHAs to create free e-mail addresses from which to spam. We predict a gradual but long-term decline in the effectiveness of IP address reputation systems.”

Roaring Penguin Software’s anti-spam Software relies on a variety of techniques to detect spam including keyword search, header analysis, message format analysis, Bayesian statistical analysis, blacklists, whitelists, greylisting, open proxy lists, DNS verification, content-filtering rules, sender policy framework (SPF), custom rules and more. By not relying on IP address reputation exclusively, Roaring Penguin has been able to retain its
98 % + effectiveness in detecting spam.

Kodak Canada Inc. has announced a feature-packed wireless digital frame series boasting innovative capabilities and accessibility to online content. Available in 10-inch and 8-inch versions, these frames will wirelessly connect consumers to photo-sharing sites including KODAK Gallery and Flickr ^TM, and Internet content manager FrameChannel, a service of Frame Media, Inc.

“Kodak continues to introduce strategic alliances to the mix – partnerships that allow consumers to explore a world without boundaries,” said John Blake, general manager Digital Capture and Devices, Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company. “Kodak’s relationships with pioneers in photo- and content-sharing make it easier than ever for consumers to share pictures with friends and family.”

KODAK EASYSHARE Wireless Digital Frame Partners

Flickr ^TM

Kodak and Flickr, global leaders in the consumer photography industry, join to make it easy for Flickr members to share their photos with friends and family on a convenient, modern wireless digital frame. Through a relationship with Kodak, Flickr members will be able to enjoy their own digital pictures, including interesting public photos from around the world, on the new KODAK EASYSHARE Wireless Digital Frames.

FrameChannel

With more than 200 channels of dynamic content, connection to FrameChannel via KODAK EASYSHARE Wireless Digital Frames will let consumers access and view the latest news, weather, traffic, sports scores and much more, with just one touch. FrameChannel also acts as a portal enabling access to images from popular photo-sharing and social networking web sites.

KODAK Gallery

KODAK Gallery continues to be an integral partner of the KODAK EASYSHARE Wireless Digital Frames. KODAK EASYSHARE Wireless Digital Frames connected to KODAK Gallery offer consumers the ability to enjoy all of their albums and “my friends” albums right on the frame.

Additionally, with Kodak’s Picture Mail feature, users will be automatically notified when another KODAK Gallery member shares pictures. When this option is activated on a KODAK EASYSHARE Wireless Digital Frame, users will be greeted with an on-frame message letting them know that new pictures have arrived. In addition, members can now send pictures directly from their frame to their friends’ frames through KODAK Gallery. No computer is required, and just like Flickr and FrameChannel, there are no subscription fees for this service.

KODAK EASYSHARE Wireless Digital Frame Features

The new KODAK EASYSHARE W820 and W1020 Wireless Digital Frames are not ordinary picture frames – they are a window to the world. Connect to friends and family with KODAK Gallery and Flickr. Wireless connectivity gives consumers seamless access to their memories – whether they are stored on a home computer or online. The intuitive Quick Touch Border allows users to get the latest news, weather, sports, and more in one touch. It’s the power of the Internet, brought right to your fingertips.

• Display pictures in brilliant colour and crisp detail. Kodak’s Digital Frames display images in HD format (16:9 aspect ratio). The screens are colour-tuned to Kodak’s standards and use proprietary KODAK Color Science for vibrant colours and pleasing skin tones.

• Wirelessly stream all of your pictures and video from your home PC to your frame with built-in Wi-Fi capability.

• Control the frame easily with the Quick Touch Border, allowing for simple operation with a touch or slide of the finger, while leaving the screen fingerprint- and smudge-free.

• Store up to 4000 of your favourite pictures directly on your frame’s 512 MB of internal memory, and even more pictures when using the two convenient memory card slots.

• Customize the frame to match a home’s décor. Two decorative mattes are included in Cranberry Red and Silver colours. In addition, optional KODAK Digital Frame Faceplates are available in Mahogany with a gold matte, Silver with a blue matte, Black Shadowbox with a champagne matte and Espresso Shadowbox with a black matte. Easy to change, the faceplates snap onto the frame and update the look to suit your own personal style.

• Play your digital camera videos and listen to your favourite MP3 songs through built-in speakers, bringing a special dimension to any picture slideshow.

• Transfer pictures from a PC to a KODAK EASYSHARE Digital Frame even more effortlessly with the new KODAK EASYSHARE Digital Display Software. In addition to organizing and editing pictures, this software makes it easy to move favourite pictures and slideshows from a computer directly onto the frame. Use the Digital Display Software to set up the frame, quickly and easily, to access images stored on a computer and exciting Internet content though KODAK Gallery, Flickr and FrameChannel.

Pricing and Availability

• KODAK EASYSHARE W820 Wireless Digital Frame, $229.95 (CDN MRSP), August 2008
• KODAK EASYSHARE W1020 Wireless Digital Frames, $279.99 (CDN MRSP), August 2008

KODAK EASYSHARE Software Digital Frame Edition, with Digital Display Software, will be available with all EASYSHARE Digital Frames and free to download from kodak.ca.

Seagate has unveiled the industry’s first 1.5-terabyte desktop and half-terabyte notebook hard drives to meet explosive worldwide demand for digital-content storage in home and business environments.

The debut of the Barracuda ^R 7200.11 1.5TB hard drive, the eleventh generation of Seagate’s flagship drive for desktop PCs, marks the single largest capacity hard drive jump in the more than half-century history of hard drives — a half-terabyte increase from the previous highest capacity of 1TB, thanks to the capacity-boosting power of perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology.

The Barracuda 7200.11 hard drive combines proven PMR technology, components and expert manufacturing to provide 1.5TB of reliable storage for mainstream desktop computers, workstations, desktop RAID, gaming and high-end PCs, and USB/FireWire/eSATA external storage.

Seagate’s new 2.5-inch half-terabyte 5400- and 7200-rpm drives — Momentus ^R 5400.6 and Momentus 7200.4 — deliver the best combination of capacity, mobility and durability for mainstream and high-performance notebook computers, external storage solutions, PCs and industrial applications requiring small form factor.

Highlighting the global growth of digital content, Seagate expects to ship its two billionth hard drive within the next five years. Earlier this year Seagate shipped its one billionth hard drive since the company’s inception nearly 30 years ago.

“Organizations and consumers of all kinds worldwide continue to create, share and consume digital content at levels never before seen, giving rise to new markets, new applications and demand for desktop and notebook computers with unprecedented storage capacity, performance and reliability,” said Michael Wingert, Seagate executive vice president and general manager, Personal Compute Business. “Seagate is committed to powering the next generation of computing today with the planet’s fastest, highest-capacity and most reliable storage solutions.”

Momentus 5400.6 and Momentus 7200.4 hard drives are the fourth generation of Seagate’s laptop family to use PMR. The Momentus 5400.6, a 5400-rpm drive, combines a powerful Serial ATA 3Gb/second interface and capacities ranging from 120GB to 500GB with an 8MB cache.

The Momentus 7200.4 hard drive, with its 7200-rpm spin speed and a Serial ATA 3GB/second interface, delivers true desktop performance. The power-efficient 7200-rpm drive maximizes battery life and comes in capacities ranging from 250GB to 500GB with a 16MB cache.

Both Momentus drives are built tough enough to withstand up to 1,000 Gs of non-operating shock and 350 Gs of operating shock to protect drive data, making the drives ideal for systems that are subject to rough handling or high levels of vibration. For added robustness in mobile environments, the Momentus 5400.6 and 7200.4 are offered with G-Force Protection, a free-fall sensor technology that helps prevent drive damage and data loss upon impact if a laptop PC is dropped. The sensor works by detecting any changes in acceleration equal to the force of gravity and parks the heads off the disc to prevent contact with the platter in a free fall of as little as 8 inches and within 3/10ths of a second.

Seagate’s new Momentus drives are lean on power consumption, allowing notebook users to work longer between battery charges, and are virtually inaudible thanks to Seagate’s innovative SoftSonic ^TM fluid-dynamic bearing motors and QuietStep ^TM ramp load technology.

The Barracuda 7200.11 hard drive combines the capacity and speed required for today’s most demanding desktop PC applications. The drive packs 1.5TB on just four platters and its fast Serial ATA 3Gb/second interface delivers an industry-leading sustained data rate of up to 120MB/second for fast boot, application startup and file access. The 3.5-inch drive is also offered in capacities of 1TB, 750GB, 640GB, 500GB, 320GB and 160GB with cache options of 32MB and 16MB.

All Momentus and Barracuda drives are backed by Seagate’s leading five-year warranty.

Availability

Shipments of the Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB are set to begin August 2008. Momentus 5400.6 and 7200.4 hard drives are to begin shipping in Q4 calendar 2008.

North America’s most popular iPhone sports web application will now be available to Canadians. With the official launch of the Apple iPhone 3G in Canada on Friday July 11, Canadian users will be able to access ScoreMobile iPhone Edition from anywhere cellular service is available. Volkswagen Canada has signed on as the official Canadian launch partner of Score Mobile iPhone Edition.

Score Mobile iPhone Edition is a free web application that can be accessed with an iPhone or iPod touch. Taking advantage of the unique touch screen interface, the application allows fans to get up-to-the-minute scores and odds along with standings, game previews and real-time boxscores for MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, CFL and NCAA Football and Basketball.

“Since its launch in the United States last fall, Score Mobile iPhone Edition has developed a very strong following,” said Benjamin Levy, Executive Vice President and Co-COO, Score Media Inc. “We are extremely pleased that hardcore sports fans across Canada will finally be able to experience this must-have iPhone application.”

ScoreMobile iPhone Edition was the first iPhone-optimized web application to be launched by a mainstream sports media company in North America.

“We are always looking for new and innovative ways to bring our brand to the consumer,” stated Bruce Rosen, Director of Marketing & Communications at Volkswagen. “The iPhone and The Score combine two passions shared by Volkswagen drivers: sports and intuitive technology.”

From July 11 to August 15, fans will have the chance to win an Apple iPhone (including 3 years of voice, data and text messages) by registering at The Score.

Effective July 11, and as a limited time promotional offer for customers who activate by August 31 on a three year contract, a data-only offering of 6GB of data for $30 per month is being made available that can be added to any in-market voice plan. For example, with 6GB of data, iPhone 3G users can visit 35,952 web pages, or send and receive 157,286 emails, or watch 6,292 minutes of YouTube videos each and every month.

This is still much more expensive than comparable plans in the US or other countries. By comparison, U.S. carrier AT&T has said it will offer unlimited 3G iPhone data plans for $30 a month in addition to voice plans that start at $39.99 a month. As the iPhone is extremely heavy on data usage, the limits imposed by Rogers and Fido will be reached very quickly.

Kodak Canada Inc. today announced the latest M-Series Digital Camera to join its EASYSHARE System portfolio. The KODAK EASYSHARE M1093 IS Digital Camera, a sleek but powerful digital camera for style-conscious consumers, is packed with innovative features, including Kodak’s Smart Capture, which instantly adjusts the camera settings to help ensure brilliant pictures in virtually any environment – automatically.

“Underneath its sleek exterior, the KODAK EASYSHARE M1093 IS Digital Camera is a powerhouse built to capture beautiful pictures,” said John Blake, general manager Digital Capture and Devices, Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company. “The Smart Capture feature available on our latest digital cameras, including the M1093 IS, lets consumers capture moments that would have otherwise been missed, thanks to its intuitive and automatic scene detection and setting control.”

KODAK EASYSHARE M1093 IS Digital Camera

The KODAK EASYSHARE M1093 IS Digital Camera is the newest member of Kodak’s line of affordable EASYSHARE M-Series Zoom Digital Cameras for the style-savvy consumer. A range of features lets consumers capture and share their memorable moments quickly and effortlessly:

• Innovative Smart Capture feature identifies the scene and adjusts camera settings for a great picture in just about any environment – automatically.

• Take stunning HD pictures and video and view them on an HDTV with the optional KODAK EASYSHARE HDTV Dock.

• Reduce blur caused by camera shake, subject movement or fast-action situations with image stabilization and blur reduction technology.

• For great shots of friends and family, face detection technology locates faces and automatically adjusts the camera settings.

• Capture the details in low light conditions and fast action situations with high ISO (up to 3200).

Pricing and Availability

The KODAK EASYSHARE M1093 IS Digital Camera will retail for $199.95 (CDN MSRP) from September 2008.

Windows XP/2000/2003 Only

EASEUS is releasing its Personal Partition Manager v. 1.6.4 for free. Create, delete, format or move a logical disk to reallocate free space or simply comply with system requirements. Sooner or later, most of us face the need to reshape our hard disks. Now all that is possible without having to wipe out the entire disk and reinstall all the software.

EASEUS Partition Manager performs all types of basic and advanced file system functions: resizing and moving partitions, creating new and deleting (one or all) partitions, formatting partitions and “sticking” labels to them, viewing disk or partition properties, marking partitions as active, hiding and un-hiding partitions.

Since software of this kind is usually overcomplicated, the developers of EASEUS Partition Manager made an extra effort to make their application easy to use. The majority of operations are intuitive and don’t require in-depth knowledge: simply click on the “disk” (partition) to be managed and choose the required action on the Partitions menu; e.g., Resize.

In an era of worldwide security threats, people can’t afford to give up safety and confidence for software that is just easy to use. Partition Manager was made with a focus on the accuracy and safety of its operations. So, for example, before deleting data off a disk, the program will clarify whether you want to just delete the partition or you’d like to wipe every byte of data off it.

The software takes a load off your head by “remembering” little things for you. For example, it won’t let you create a FAT16 partition larger than 4 Gigs, or let you place the old Windows systems boot code further than the first 2016 MB of the partition.

Although the software performs a specific, narrow set of actions, many categories of users can benefit from it. Thus, corporate users can obtain a powerful partition manager, ready to handle both individual drives and RAID arrays. At the same time, home users can get an easy yet accurate utility for managing their disk space and also enjoy the free registration of their copy of the software.

EASEUS Company website
EASEUS Product page:
Personal Partition Manager Download link

Cision, the leading provider of media research, distribution, monitoring and analysis services, continued its expansion into new media, announcing it has compiled information on hundreds of “mom (or mommy) blogs” — blogs written by moms for moms — for its Cision media database. Blogs authored by mothers are one of the more influential social media communities, engaging with a market of more than 30 million women in North America between the ages of 18 and 42 who directly influence household spending estimated at more than $1 trillion a year.

At the same time, as part of its ongoing effort to help its customers improve communication with the media, eradicate email PR spamming, and establish other best practices for the PR industry, Cision released a tip sheet covering the do’s and don’ts of engaging with moms who blog. ( Ten Tips on Reaching out to Mom Blogs: How — and How Not — to Join the Online Conversation about Motherhood, Childrearing and 21st-Century Family Life ).

In compiling the list for its CisionPoint media database customers, Cision researchers interviewed numerous mommy bloggers to gain insight into the information they need, as well as what kinds of pitches they want to hear. The Cision list includes only those blogs that accept advertising, write about products and services, or are open to being contacted and provided with information that would be relevant to their blogs. Cision excluded from the list blogs that are more personal in nature and not receptive to information from PR pros.

“Mom blogs comprise one of the most popular blog categories, and they provide an excellent opportunity to reach mothers, fathers and families,” said Peter Granat, Cision Executive Vice President. “However, PR professionals must take great care in how they communicate with mothers who blog, or any bloggers for that matter. Spamming a news release or email to a list of bloggers will result in nothing but grief for both PR pros and bloggers. There is a right and wrong way to approach blogs, and it begins with common sense and relationship development.”

Estimates are wide ranging as to how many mom blogs there are. Blogher, the number-one community for and guide to blogs by women, lists nearly 3,300 self-described mommy blogs on its website. Other estimates range as high as 15,000. However, only a subset of these are appropriate vehicles for PR messages. Cision’s highly qualified list based on careful research helps eliminate the guesswork about which are the most important or influential.

In Cision’s research interviews with authors of popular blogs for moms, some welcomed contact from PR people, while others offered words of caution. “I’m tapped into PR companies and media outlets,” said Whitney Wingerd of Mommies with Style. “People submit products to us. They’ll send us products either to me or one of my writers and then we’ll test it out. And if we like it, we’ll write it up.”

However, Elizabeth Thielkeland of Busymom.net warned that poorly prepared PR people will pay a price: “Don’t pretend you’ve read my site when you haven’t. And reading what I write about is more than taking the first post or second post and throwing it in the pitch.”

Overall, the number of women using the internet has tripled in the last three years to more than 32 million, according to industry studies. Mommy blogs cover a wide range of topics, including parenting, child safety, medical concerns, the environment, financial management, shopping tips, fashion, education, activities for children, etc. A small sampling of the blogs included in the Cision database:

• The Mom Salon Blog
• Geek Parenting
• Mom2Mom Lounge
• Mommies with Style
• Safe Mama
• Thrifty Mommy
• Enviromom
• Cool Mom Picks
• Silicon Valley Moms Blog
• Busymom.net

The Cision database is updated regularly with new blogs and new information for existing blogs. The database also includes details on how, when and why these bloggers should or should not be pitched.

The Canadian Football League (CFL) announced that the league has partnered with Viigo Inc. to deliver CFL fans a mobile, interactive and real-time information service that will dramatically enhance the fan experience. The CFL now offers a free, branded version of Viigo to fans, giving them one-click access to tickets, schedules, news, scores and real-time stats from their BlackBerry smartphones.

“Today people expect instant access to information they want, and that is especially true in sports,” said CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon. “The CFL employs the latest technologies that allow us to interact with our fans, but Viigo lets us establish a more personal connection between fans and the league than any other medium we have used. The CFL has been looking for ways to further engage with our fans and Viigo lets us do so in real time. Now fans can follow games in progress wherever they are, whenever they want, and can get detailed information to make the games more exciting and meaningful.”

Fans can use Viigo to get up to the minute details about games underway and to follow their team’s progress as they compete to play in the Grey Cup. But the CFL-branded version of Viigo does more than just provide fans with one-click access to a wealth of information and activities to enhance their enjoyment of football. Since Viigo delivers customized and real-time access to breaking news, sports, entertainment, weather, stock markets, games, traffic alerts, blog posts and much more all from their smartphones, fans can enjoy games without missing important information.

“A new generation of football fans is demanding new ways of staying connected to the sport they love,” said Mark Ruddock, CEO of Viigo. “In fact, this always connected, digital generation is looking at their relationship with their favorite sports and sports teams in revolutionary new ways. From real-time scores and fantasy stats, to features we’ll be enabling in the future such as live discussion forums, Viigo’s ability to provide an always on, always connected experience, wherever people are, is a key part of that revolution.”

For more information on the CFL edition of Viigo, visit http://www.cfl.ca/wireless or, to download now, visit http://www.getviigo.com/cfl from your mobile browser.

Call me? Not as likely as it once was, according to a new survey from Yahoo! Canada and Research House suggesting that Canadians’ personal email addresses are now the new telephone numbers of the 21st century.

The study shows that one-third (32 per cent) say their personal email address is the primary piece of information they provide when meeting someone for the first time, compared to only 18 per cent who opt for their home phone number and 12 per cent who give out their cell phone number. In fact, when it comes to Canadians’ personal life, over three-quarters (77 per cent) cite having a personal email address as important, and 2 in 3 (66 per cent) agree that the email name or handle that people choose reveals something about their personality, style or intentions.

“Let’s face it, emailing has emerged as our primary and defining point of contact, both on and offline,” says Kerry Munro, General Manager, Yahoo! Canada. “Personal email is our virtual hello and handshake – it’s our accepted passport to meeting new people and a lot more telling than trading meaningless digits.”

The survey results come on the heels of Yahoo! Canada’s recent announcement about the global availability of two new email domains – ymail.com and rocketmail.com – giving users the chance to register for the email address or Yahoo! ID they have always wanted. With these two new email domain choices, Yahoo! is making millions of new email addresses available to the online community.

Personal Change is Good

Interestingly, the study showed that Canadians change their personal email address an average of 4.3 times over the course of their life. Why are we making changes? Switching email service providers and avoiding spam were the top two cited reasons at 50 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. Other reasons included needing a new address for family purposes (14 per cent), looking for a new job (10 per cent), matters of the heart such as marriage or divorce / ending a relationship (9 per cent), and starting a new business (8 per cent).

And while over one-quarter (28 per cent) of Canadians still struggle with obtaining their preferred personal email name, close to half of us (44 per cent) consider the most important attribute of an email address to be that it’s easy to remember. Somewhat surprisingly, only 23 per cent of Canadians thought it most important to have their name explicitly stated in their personal email.

Lack of Work Email Etiquette?

While over half of Canadians (59 per cent) say a major reason they maintain a personal email address is because they are reluctant to use their company’s email system for correspondence that they wish to keep private, the facts suggest that Canadians continue to take their chances and send an average of 2.6 personal messages from their work email addresses every day – with 7 per cent of us admitting to sending ten or more!

And despite the vast majority (89 per cent) of Canadians being aware that employers have the legal right to archive and monitor employee email transmissions, 30 per cent say they know someone who has been disciplined by their employer for sending an inappropriate email from work.

Email and Workplace Attitudes

• 51 per cent of Canadians with workplace email say their employer has a policy about how employees may use the company’s email system.
• 34 per cent of Canadians believe their employer checks employee email boxes from time to time.
• Only half (52 per cent) of Canadians believe a company should have the right to search employees’ emails.
• 43 per cent think it’s possible that their email has been forwarded to others (inside or outside of work) without their knowledge.
• While three-quarters (74 per cent) say they are always careful about what they write in emails, 35 per cent believe an email sent from work can possibly come back to haunt or embarrass them.
• Two-fifths (39 per cent) have relied on personal email when the company network has been down.

Users can learn more about and register for a new email at ymail.com and rocketmail.com at mail.yahoo.ca.

Fido and Rogers Wireless announced a variety of voice and data pricing plans for the much-anticipated Apple ^R iPhone 3G set to hit stores on Friday, July 11. With monthly iPhone 3G combined voice and data plans starting at $60, Fido and Rogers offer a wide selection of high value options to meet the needs of Canadian iPhone 3G fans.

iPhone 3G combines all the revolutionary features of iPhone with 3G networking that is twice as fast as the first generation iPhone, built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs the hundreds of third party applications already built with the recently released iPhone SDK.

“As Canada’s leading wireless carrier, Rogers is thrilled to not only bring the iPhone 3G to Canada but to make it affordable and accessible to as many customers as possible,” says John Boynton, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer, Rogers Wireless. “We’ve designed a pricing structure that offers affordable, flexible voice and data packages so Canadians can truly unleash their iPhone 3G experience on Canada’s fastest wireless network.”

There are 4 iPhone 3G Price Plans at Fido and Rogers Wireless that range from:

$60/month for 150 Voice minutes + unlimited Evening and weekends, 400 MB of Data, 75 Text Sent Messages, Unlimited Incomming Text Messages and Visual Voicemail. 400 Mb of Data includes up to 200,000 text emails or 3,100 web pages or 1,360 photo attachments.

To:

$115/month for 800 Voice minutes + unlimited Evening and weekends, 2 GB of Data, 300 Text Sent Messages, Unlimited Incomming Text Messages and Visual Voicemail. 2 Gb of Data includes up to 1,048,000 text emails or 16,000 web pages or 7,000 photo attachments.

Pricing includes unlimited Wi-Fi access at all Rogers and Fido Hotspots. Rogers Wireless will also offer two voice value packs for popular wireless features: a $15 monthly value pack including Caller ID, Who Called, Caller Ring Trax, 2,500 Sent Text Messages and 2,500 Call Forwarding Minutes; and a $20 monthly value pack including Caller ID, Who Called, Caller Ring Trax, 10,000 Sent Text Messages and 6:00 p.m. Early Evening Calling and 2,500 Call Forwarding Minutes.

Fido, Canada’s fourth largest wireless provider and number one in wireless customer satisfaction, today announced it will also offer iPhone 3G to Canadians when the device launches on July 11.

“Fido services and devices suit our customers’ urban lifestyles, so iPhone 3G is the perfect fit for Canadians looking to be fashionable like this amazing wireless device,” said Rob Bruce, President, Rogers Wireless, owner of the Fido brand. “As the brand voted number one in wireless customer satisfaction, we are thrilled to provide our customers with the device that ranked the highest in customer satisfaction from a wireless cellular manufacturer.”

Fido earned top ranking of any mobile communications provider in Canada in the contract service segment as part of the Canadian Wireless Customer Satisfaction Study 2007, which examined perceptions of wireless customers with their service, mobile phone and retail experience. Conducted independently by researchers J.D. Power and Associates, the study revealed that Fido outranked six other Canadian wireless providers based on the following five key customer satisfaction pillars: billing, call quality, cost of service, customer service and service plan options.

Since launching in the US in June 2007, iPhone has enjoyed solid growth while racing to a huge lead in terms of customer satisfaction. According to a consumer cellphone survey completed in October 2007 by ChangeWave Research, 82 per cent of iPhone owners reported being very satisfied with their purchase – the highest rating of any cellular manufacturer.

iPhone 3G will be available to Fido customers at $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model on a three-year price plan. Stay tuned for price plan information and retail availability.

The group representing Canada’s academic community says the federal government’s new copyright legislation will restrict teachers’ and students’ access to electronic documents and on-line material.

“We are deeply disappointed that the Harper government caved in to the demands of the American entertainment industry and is limiting the rights of Canadians to access information and entertainment,” said James Turk, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers.

CAUT is particularly concerned that the draft legislation will make it more difficult for university and college teachers and students to have access to learning materials. For example, the bill prohibits the circumvention of digital encryption – any device or technology that prevents copying. This means material that can be copied now if in a paper format, cannot be copied for any reason, including educational or research purposes, if it is in electronic format and digitally encrypted.

“In prohibiting all circumvention, the proposed legislation will lock down a vast amount of digital material, preventing its use for research, education and innovation,” said Turk.

Tucows Inc., (AMEX:TCX, TSX:TC) a leading provider of Internet services to web hosting companies and ISPs worldwide, has announced an exclusive agreement with Afternic to auction Tucows’ large daily inventory of expired domain names. Starting today, thousands of daily expired domains from Tucows are automatically available for auction on Afternic), where the public can bid on and purchase names through a simple and easy-to-use interface.

“Working with Afternic is a winning proposition for our resellers and for people looking to buy expired names,” says Bill Sweetman, General Manager, Tucows Domain Portfolio. “We have over eight million domains under management and thousands expiring every day, so this deal provides us with a great way to share revenue with our resellers while participating in Afternic’s popular secondary domain name marketplace.”

“We are thrilled to have such a huge stream of expired domain names flowing into Afternic from Tucows,” says Pete Lamson, NameMedia Marketplace’s Senior Vice President and General Manager. “This additional expired domain name inventory significantly enhances our ability to provide a wide range of domain options to small to medium-sized business owners looking to purchase a great name.”

This collaboration for expired domain name auctions adds another way Tucows shares revenue with its Domain Service resellers. Fully integrated into the Tucows Domain Service, the expired domain auction program lets resellers receive a share of the gross sale price of any expired domain (that was originally registered through them) sold in the Afternic marketplace. There is no charge for Tucows Domains Service resellers to participate in this program.

In addition to expired domain name auctions, Tucows Domains Service Resellers benefit from a reseller-friendly domain name package that includes a large selection of popular TLDs; the ability to sell premium domain names from the secondary domain name market; a powerful domain name suggestion tool; free WHOIS Privacy and Managed DNS with each domain name sold; and a 50 per cent share of net domain parking program revenue.

Today at 1pm EST Firefox 3.0 is released to the public. The good folks at Mozilla are hoping to set a Guiness World Record for the most downloads of a piece of software in a 24 hour period. So, join the almost 1.7 million other people who have pledged to download their free copy of FireFox 3.0 today!

After you have downloaded your very own copy of Firefox 3.0 you can download or print an official participant certificate! A special form will be available on the Download Day Headquarters as soon as Firefox 3 launches and Download Day kicks off. Simply enter your name and select print for your very own certificate.

At 1pm today download Firefox 3.0 and enjoy increased security, blinding speed and cool new features that will change the way you use the Web.

Microsoft Corp. today announced that 4GB, 8GB and 80GB Zune digital music players and an extensive line-up of accessories will be available in Canadian stores starting June 13, 2008.

“We’re thrilled to be offering a truly unique way for Canadians to discover new music and share it with their friends,” said Craig Tullett, Group Manager, Zune Canada. “With a variety of players, customization options and wireless capabilities Zune offers a mobile social experience.”

Zune players and accessories will be available at the following retail locations across Canada:

• Best Buy
• Future Shop
• Wal-Mart
• www.amazon.ca
• HMV (select stores)
• The Source by Circuit City (select stores)

“We are very excited to launch the Zune music experience at Best Buy and Future Shop locations across Canada,” said Ron Wilson, Senior Vice President of Merchandising, Best Buy Canada Ltd. “Zune is a great choice for Canadians looking for new ways to enjoy their music wherever they go.”

Canadians can go online at www.zuneoriginals.ca to customize their Zune with laser-engraved artwork from six inspiring Canadian artists. All Zune Originals artwork and engraving will be offered free for three months starting June 13, 2008. Canadians can also visit www.zune.ca to download free Zune Software and join the Zune Social online music community.

Zune Digital Music Players & Accessories
A variety of players and customization options will make it easy for Canadians to find the size, colour, design and price of Zune that best suits them. All Zune players support video, audio and pictures, have built-in FM tuners and the ability to sync and share songs, playlists and pictures wirelessly. The Zune player family launching in Canada includes:

• Zune 80. The Zune 80GB has a bright 3.2-inch screen, includes premium in-ear noise-isolating headphones and will be available in black and red. (SRP: $249.99 CDN)
• Zune 4 & Zune 8. The slim, ultra-portable Zune 4GB and Zune 8GB will both be available in black, red and pink. (SRP: $139.99 CDN for 4GB and $189.99 CDN for 8GB)
• Zune Originals. Canadians will have the option to purchase and customize their Zune player with personal text options and laser-engraved designs from International artists as well as six Canadian artists at www.zuneoriginals.ca. The following Canadian artists have been invited to share their inspirations with the Zune Originals artist series which will be available to both Canadian and U.S. customers:
  • Andrew Pommier
  • Derrick Hodgson
  • Luke Ramsey
  • Meomi (Vicki Wong & Michael Murphy)
  • NDEUR (Mathieu Missiaen)
  • Stephen Crowhurst

Zune will also be offering an extensive line of accessories to help consumers get the most from their Zune content wherever they are – at home, in the car or on the go. Nine accessory options are available from Zune:

• Zune AC Adapter (SRP $29.99 CDN)
• Zune Cable Pack. Sync cable, composite AV output cable and audio cable (SRP $29.99 CDN)
• Zune Car Pack. Redesigned FM transmitter/charger and dashboard grip pad (SRP $79.99 CDN)
• Zune Dock Pack. Home Dock to accommodate each Zune device and AC adapter (SRP $49.99 CDN)
• Zune Home AV Pack. Home Dock, wireless remote, AC adapter and composite AV output cable (SRP $79.99 CDN)
• Zune Leather Cases. Premium leather with headphone clip (4/8 GB – SRP $29.99 CDN) & (80 GB – SRP $34.99 CDN)
• Zune Premium Headphones (SRP $39.99 CDN)
• Zune Sync Cable (SRP $19.99 CDN)

In addition a selection of accessories from the following partners and more will also be available on June 13, 2008:

• Altec Lansing
• Belkin
• Case-mate
• Digital Lifestyle Outfitters
• Incipio Technologies
• KICKER
• Monster

More information on Zune and related images are available at www.zunenews.ca.

Apple ® today announced that movies from major film studios including 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), Sony Pictures Television International and Lionsgate and Maple Pictures are now available on the iTunes ® Store in Canada. Movie purchases and rentals feature iTunes’ legendary ease of use, which makes discovering and enjoying movies as simple and easy as buying music on iTunes has always been.

The iTunes Store in Canada features over 1,200 films available for rent or purchase, with titles available for purchase on the same day as their DVD release, including recent blockbusters such as “Juno,” “I Am Legend,” “National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets,” “The Bourne Ultimatum” and “Cloverfield.” iTunes Movie Rentals also features over 200 titles available in stunning high definition, perfect for viewing on a widescreen TV with Apple TV ®.

“Canadians have made iTunes the most popular place to find and buy music and TV shows online,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We’re thrilled to give iTunes customers access to over 1,200 movies from major studios to rent or purchase, whether to enjoy at home on their widescreen TV with Apple TV or on-the-go on their iPod.”

The iTunes Store is the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store. With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as iTunes Movie Rentals, integrated podcasting directory, iMix playlist sharing, the ability to turn previously purchased tracks into complete albums at a reduced price, and seamless integration with iPod ® the iTunes Store is the best way for Mac ® and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online.

With iTunes Movie Rentals, once a movie is rented, it starts downloading from the iTunes Store directly to iTunes or Apple TV, and users with a fast Internet connection can start viewing the movie in seconds. Customers have up to 30 days to start watching it, and once a movie has been started customers have 48 hours to finish it — or watch it multiple times.

Pricing & Availability

Movie purchases and rentals from the iTunes Store for Mac or Windows require iTunes 7.6.2, available as a free download immediately from www.itunes.ca. iTunes movie purchases and rentals require a valid credit card with a billing address in the country of purchase. iTunes movies are available at CAN$9.99 for catalog title purchases, CAN$14.99 for recent releases and CAN$19.99 for new releases. iTunes Movie Rentals are CAN$3.99 for library titles and CAN$4.99 for new releases, with high definition rental versions priced just one dollar more. Movie rentals can be previewed, purchased and watched on iPod classic, iPod nano with video, iPod touch and on a widescreen TV with Apple TV.

Our use of PCs and other IT products has a significant impact on the climate. The impact worldwide equals that of the entire aviation sector. A more efficient use of IT products and climate friendly purchases of new equipment could reduce the climate impact by more than 80 per cent, according to a new study by TCO Development.

“The 1000 million computer monitors that are in use all over the world generate 53 million tons of CO2, and need as much electric power as the yearly consumption of Sweden (10 million citizens). This clearly shows that the use of IT products has a negative impact on the environment, but also that by changing the way we use these products, we can be part of the solution,” says Haakan Nordin, Project Manager for Climate and Environment at TCO Development.

TCO Development lists three easy steps that everyone can take, and that taken together could reduce the climate impact from computers with more than 80 per cent.

• Choose computer equipment based on power consumption in active mode. An energy efficient desktop PC uses up to 65 per cent less energy than a standard desktop PC. If energy efficient notebooks are compared with advanced desktop PCs used for CAD/CAM the difference is over 1,000 per cent.
• Activate energy settings on your computer. 65 per cent of the CO2 emissions are attributed to computers that are not turned off or do not have energy save functions activated. The simplest solution is to use notebook computer settings, even when using a desktop.
• Turn off your computer when not in use. User studies show that an average office computer is turned on, but not in use, more than 50 per cent of the time.

“If we change our ways of using IT equipment, and make full use of all the environmental features of this technology we can reduce CO2 emissions without any impact on our daily lives,” comments Haakan Nordin.

TCO Development – The TCO certification system makes it easy to choose IT and office equipment that is designed for the benefit of both the user and the environment. The TCO certification is internationally recognized and products bearing the TCO label can be found throughout the world.

For more information visit: http://www.tcodevelopement.com

Best Buy Canada, the fastest growing retailer and etailer of consumer electronics in Canada, is addressing the growing demand for a better mobile phone shopping experience. The Burnaby-based company today announced that it will be launching a unique stand-alone shopping experience with new stores located in shopping centers across the country. The new Best Buy Mobile stores will sell mobile phones, plans, accessories and related items – a unique format for Best Buy. The first stores will be constructed in the Greater Toronto Area and are slated to open before the 2008 Holiday season.

Best Buy Mobile will be managed from the company’s headquarters in Burnaby, British Columbia. The new store concept will harness the iconic power of the Best Buy brand that Canadians have grown to trust and will:

• Give the customer Canada’s best selection of phones and carry all Canadian networks
• Be staffed by informed, impartial, non-commissioned mobile phone specialists
• Offer straightforward information on pricing
• Be there for our customers for the life of their phone

Best Buy Mobile expansion plans also include upgrading the mobile sections of select Best Buy stores across Canada for the Best Buy Mobile “store-within-a-store” concept. This new section within Best Buy’s current retail stores will offer more selection; have dedicated team members, and a no pressure, non-commissioned sales environment.

“Very few Canadians say they have had a positive experience while purchasing their mobile phones. Best Buy Canada believes this needs to change,” says Mike Pratt, President, Best Buy Canada Ltd. “Customers deserve a pressure-free, personalized one-stop-shop that puts the emphasis on them, not on the network or service plan. The creation of this new and innovative arm of our business is a direct response to the needs and feedback of our customers from coast-to-coast.”

“The mobile phone business in Canada is significantly underdeveloped,” says Phil Johnston, Director, Wireless Solutions, Best Buy Canada Ltd. “Best Buy believes there is a genuine need for a new solution in the wireless space and that we have the retail experience and expertise to deliver a new and unique choice to Canadian mobile customers.”

Best Buy Mobile standalone stores will average approximately 1,800 square feet, while the store-within-a-store concept will be located near the current wireless section and feature approximately 800 square feet of display space.

Both standalone and store-within-a-store concepts will include:

• ALL current Canadian wireless network carriers
• Canada’s best selection of phones and handsets
• A complete range of mobile phone accessories
• Knowledgeable, non-commissioned mobile phone specialists
• No rebates. Actual prices are clearly marked
• WOW (Walk Out Working) service for your phone, so that customers can leave our stores with their new mobile device actually working and data transferred

Help set a Firefox 3 world record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours on Download Day!

Go to the Download Day Headquarters and pledge to download Firefox 3. With your help the Firefox community can go down in history.

Download Firefox during Download Day and enjoy increased security, blinding speed and cool new features that will change the way you use the Web.

• New Features – Firefox 3 sets the innovation bar very high with exciting new features, including one-click bookmarking, the smart location bar and lightning fast performance.
• Security – Keeping you and your personal information safe is top priority. Firefox 3 includes phishing and malware protection, plus our new instant site ID info.
• Productivity – With features like built-in spell checking, session restore and full zoom, Firefox 3 makes it possible to work faster and more efficiently on the Web.
• Customization – Your taste and needs set you apart from the rest. With Firefox 3 you can choose from over 5,000 add-ons that help you customize your browsing experience.

Sounds like a good deal, right? All you have to do is get Firefox 3 during Download Day to help set the record for most software downloads in 24 hours – it’s that easy. We’re not asking you to swallow a sword or to balance 30 spoons on your face, although that would be kind of awesome.

Make your Pledge to Download FireFox 3 now!

There is always one or two friends on Facebook force you to decline 42 Human Pet Invitations or 200 Food Fight Requests, with this trick you’ll never have to Facebook deal with invitations from those applications or ‘friends’ anymore.

When you receive an application request, you can now have the option to “Block This Application” to never see that application again, or hit the “Ignore All Invites From This Friend.” to block a friend who’s particularly aggressive with the invites.

The opt outs are a real blessing.

Microsoft Office comes with a number of templates for various applications, like spreadsheets, presentations, and letters. But what is missing are templates that tie together the different applications within the suite. It looks as though Microsoft may have realized this pitfall, and so they posted six very nice (and free) designer templates that each come in nine different colour schemes.

The best part about these free designs is that each includes templates for presentations, spreadsheets, invoices, letterheads, business cards, email blasts, and newsletters.

Required Software:

Windows Microsoft Office 2007 OR Mac Microsoft Office 2008

Download you templates here [Microsoft Small Business Center via CyberNet]

The Globe and Mail has reported that federal regulators have ordered Bell Canada to provide tangible evidence that its broadband networks are congested to justify the company’s Internet traffic-shaping policies.

In a letter sent to the Canadian Association of Internet Providers and Bell Canada Thursday, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission set out its plan to tackle the issue of traffic shaping, also called throttling, on the company’s broadband networks.

The CRTC has requested further information from both Bell and CAIP – an industry group representing about 50 independent Internet service providers – and said it plans to issue a final ruling based on CAIP’s complaint before the end of September.

In April, CAIP launched a complaint with the CRTC, charging that Bell’s traffic shaping policies are illegal, and asked the regulator to issue a stop order against the telecom giant.

On Wednesday, the CRTC denied CAIP’s request for interim relief, which allows Bell to continue to slow down certain types of Internet traffic flowing on the wholesale networks it provides to other ISPs.

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If your using a Windows Mobile device (phone), Microsoft has made Windows Live Mobile available for download. Windows Live Mobile allows users to sync up their Hotmail or Live Mail accounts and contacts.

Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live for Windows Mobile also lets you sync your email to your Windows Mobile phone as well. With Push-Email, you can get your email from Windows Live Hotmail account as it comes in. The sync features for email in Windows Live for Windows Mobile will let you view the same unread/read email messages on your Windows Mobile phone, desktop PC with Windows Live Mail, or via the web with Windows Live Hotmail. If you read an unread message on your phone, it will be unread on your phone AND unread in Windows Live Mail AND on the web in Windows Live Hotmail.

Windows Live for Windows Mobile syncs up your Windows Live Contacts. When your Windows Live Contacts are synced to your phone, their name will appear under Contacts on my Windows Mobile phone. Windows Live Contacts can have multiple phone numbers entered into their profiles for a variety of locations such as Mobile, Home, or Work. When when you call a Windows Live Contact, you choose any of the numbers they have provided, you can also edit their contact information in either Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Mail or via the web in Windows Live Hotmail.

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