Tech Blog

So this week I discover the word 'so'. And use it so excessively, while taking a look back at the tech news that happened over the last seven days. So, are you in? Read more...

In this modern era of instant communication, if you're not "getting" anything from the connections you're making across your social networks, perhaps it's time to widen your social circle. Read more...

Well, I'm back for part two of my impressions on the newest entries to the PS3 "Greatest Hits" library. I hope you enjoyed part one where I discussed my take on Devil May Cry 4, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Today I'm going to be tackling some more critically acclaimed PS3 games to land in the "Greatest Hits" library, including Army of Two, Battlefield: Bad Company, and Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. Read more...

The release of new additions to the Playstation 3 "Greatest Hits" library has to be among my favourite times of the year. Not only do many great, older PS3 games resurface and get released in a shiny new red case, there is always a significant price reduction (sometimes as high as 50%). For gamers like me who are a little picky about which games I'm willing to plunk down my hard-earned dough on, it's refreshing and even inviting when you see the value proposition "Greatest Hits" titles have to offer. Read more...

The internet is everywhere in this modern age, and if we're not tethering our mobile phones, or getting a usb key to get web access anytime we're covered by a cell tower, we're trying to find sattelite phones to take with us on transpacific journeys to make sure we're always connected. Today, the story of a woman who is taking web access to the extreme. Read more...

Tim has just done a nice post celebrating Canadian music for Canada Day, pointing out some Canadian music worth checking out (such as Malajube, which I second). If I was to write about Canadian music I'd spend the whole time inciting the nation to murder Nickleback, so I won't do that. Instead I'm inspired to write about one of my favourite Canadian directors, Bruce McDonald, in the hopes if you've never seen anything by him you'll check him out. Read more...

Wherein I celebrate Canada Day by coming dangerously close to insulting Canadian music, but make it all right at the end by recommending 7 recent Canadian albums that I like, and one documentary about a once forgotten Canadian band. Read more...

Shutter speed is possible the most intuitive of the 'three pillars' of photography, with aperture and ISO being the other two slightly more complicated aspects. You want to freeze the action, so you crank up the shutter speed. I mean really, how hard can it be? Read more...

Just as in real life where your words, deeds and appearance influence the way people perceive you -- the ingredients of your personal brand -- so to in the online world you are what you Tweet. And post in your blog. And in other blog or forum comments. But what is an online personal brand, and how do I get one? Read on, gentle reader, read on... Read more...

If you've been following this blog religiously--and why shouldn't you be?--you'll already have read Paul's excellent preview of Wii Sports Resort a short while ago and then also wondered my coverage of Nintendo was so light during and directly after E3. Well, because of the hectic nature of E3 I just didn't get as much time to spend with Nintendo's goods as I had hoped to, which is why I was pleased that Nintendo chose to hold a "mini-E3" for a select group of journalists this past week, allowing me to get to grips with some of their great upcoming titles--including Wii Sports Resort . Read more...

Earlier this month, the University of Alberta Hospital reported two laptops stolen. Along with the hardware, the thieves also made off with names and personal health numbers of about 250,000 Alberta patients. But hospitals aren't the only ones who should be concerned with personal data security...what are you doing about keeping the data on your computers safe from theft? Here's something to consider... Read more...

If there is one feature of blogs that I absolutely adore it's the ability to interact with your audience. I find this ability to truly engage your audience much more appealing than your standard static news website. So I'm trying out a new poll feature today and I hope it works *crosses fingers*. For my very first poll I'm curious to find out if anyone out there considers themselves a fan of retro gaming. Or more specifically, gamers who enjoy classic arcade games, PCs such as the C-64, Colecovision, or Amiga and early generation gaming consoles such as the Atari, NES or Genesis. Read more...

There's a bit of a tempest going on whether to blog or not to blog, since the new rage is "lifestreaming" blog using sites like Posterous (I just got my lifestreaming site set up if for no other reason to play with it). So here we are blogging for Future Shop and some are saying that blogging has become passé, so what's the deal? The deal is that often those closest to the new technology are the first to get bored with it, the rest of us however tend to keep a more level head about things. Read more...

The Nintendo Wii is the most common item brides and grooms request on their online registries. I can haz one too? Read more...

In the early days of the web, there was a nasty practice of creating frames to link content and make it appear as if it was on your page, when it really was located somewhere else. Now, a decade later, Facebook is doing the same thing. Framing out your content with URLs unique to Facebook, and stealing the comments off your blog and moving the conversation from your posts to Facebook. Read more...

Ah yes, working from home. Commute in your robe and slippers. It's idyllic. It's something close to Nerdvana. It's really freakin' hard sometimes. Huh? Yes, really. While I enjoyed working from home (which is did from 2003-2008), it could be very challenging at times. While some of the challenges were technical, the majority were often human. So, do you think you could hack it? Read more...

If I had a nickel for every time I got one of those calls, I think I'd be able to buy Future Shop. Really my mom is great with computers and doesn't call me often, but this leads in to the age old question of how to geeks help our friends with their computers. We run away. Read more...