canada

Traveling with the Pre: Good Phone, Weak Support

About my experiences traveling to Canada with the Palm Pre.

Because it is summer and I work on an academic calendar, I have been traveling a good bit for fun since I got the Pre. In the short time since I purchased my first Pre, I have been to Toronto, Canada; Washington, DC; and Bethany Beach, Delaware. The trips to DC and DE have so far been uneventful phone-wise. I may have more to report in a few days.

The trip to Canada, however, was a bit more complicated.

Traveling to Canada

I got my first Pre three days before … Read more

Palm Pre headed to Canada's Bell Mobility

Oh, Canada, Palm delivered some pretty good news on Wednesday morning, announcing that it will bring the Palm Pre to the Great White North through Bell Mobility.

Bell Mobility, a CDMA carrier, will offer the Pre some time in the second half of 2009, so now, Canadians can also agonize over an exact release date just like us here in the States. You can sign up to be notified via e-mail of its availability here.

(Source: The Official Palm blog)

Quebec says 'non' to English-only video games

The French Canadian government of Quebec is saying non to English-only video games if French versions are available.

French language rules on video games come into force on April 1, prohibiting the sale of new English-only video games in Quebec if a French version is available.

Is this a smart move to get more video games into the hands of French speakers? Or, is it misguided, xenophobic protectionism? I'm going with the latter.

One of the many reasons this is such a bad idea is that game companies can simply stop creating French versions of games to bypass this ridiculous law. I'm not sure how big a market there is for video games in French, but I suspect any kind of regulation that forces game development companies to abide such rules would quickly force their hand to decide if it was worth it to carry on with multiple languages.

One retailer profiled in the Toronto Star alluded to the fact that the delay in getting games to players (assuming the French version came out after the English version) would affect his business dramatically:

"I'm afraid it's going to cost me my business," Ronnie Rondeau said. "If it really was going to make a difference, I'd be for it, but only a small number of people want to play in French. The rest don't care."

If the issue for retailers is really the timely delivery of the French version then this suggests there is a market opportunity for cloud gaming platforms such as Steam to figure out ways to offer new games in multiple languages.

Via GamaSutra … Read more

Tesla offers Roadster to Canadians

Tesla Motors has begun offering its Roadster electric vehicle for the Canadian highway, the company announced Wednesday.

Tesla said in a statement that driving a Tesla Roadster in Canada can be thought of as even more kind to the environment than in other places since the bulk of the country's electricity is generated from renewable resources.

"An EV recharged from the current Canadian grid, on average, would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 85 percent compared to an equivalent gasoline-powered vehicle. In hydro-dominant British Columbia, Quebec, and Manitoba, the reduction would be an impressive 98 percent," said … Read more

RIM execs to pay $74 million for options backdating

The co-chief executives of Research in Motion and two other executives will pay more than $74.5 million ($92 million Canadian) to settle a stock options-backdating case, under an agreement approved on Thursday by Canada's securities commission.

Co-Chief Executives Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, Chief Financial Officer Dennis Kavelman, and Finance Director Angelo Loberto have agreed to contribute $31 million to RIM for the benefit they received from the incorrectly priced stock options granted to all employees from 1996 to 2006. They will also pay $36.4 million to defray costs incurred by the company in the investigation and $… Read more

The 404 240: Where we can't find the CNET holiday party

After getting bad news about the death of this year's CNET holiday party, we wallow in sorrow for awhile but count our blessings that our two week vacation is still in tact. We move on to congratulate Logitech on their 1 billionth mouse and recommend a few of our favorite peripherals. We also wag a finger at Canada and unleash a horror story about their massacre of our beloved Sea Unicorn, the Narwhal. Shame on you, we thought you were better than us!

There are two very large problems that are tackled in today's episode. First one is … Read more

Twitter: No more outbound texts for Canada

This can't be good. Just a few months after restricting its U.K.-based text-messaging number due to cost issues, Twitter has done the same for Canada.

The microblogging service has cut outbound SMS messages for the folks up north, citing "unexpected changes in our billing." Costs had been doubling for a few months.

Basically, this means Canadian Twitter users will be able to send numbers to its short code, 21212, but not receive them that way. They can instead use the Twitter mobile site or one of many third-party mobile apps to see what their friends … Read more

The 404 234: Where we're bummed that Dad is home

Jeff is back to prove that father truly does not know best, but we're happy to welcome him back to the show. The OG crew is finally back together, so we get right back into the mix with stories about video game energy conservation, YouTube cheat tactics, Christian Guitar Hero, the weekend box office, and Jeff regales us with tales of the forgotten country of Canada.

Welcome back Jeff! Last week seemed to last forever without you buddy, and while guest hosts are always a good time, The 404 is almost too positive without your brand of bitter hatred for everything under the sun. So now that you're back and you've brought your gray cloud with you, we can get back to all things "normal" on the show. We're all about new and old movies, so I must recommend Let the Right One In, a new movie that takes an original look at vampirism. The story is about a young boy ostracized by his peers who finds friendship in a young neighbor...who also happens to be a blood-sucking vampire preying on other members of his community. It's an indie flick, so don't expect to see big budget explosions or crazy CGI, but the story is well-told and emotional. The movie is all in Swedish, so don't forget your reading glasses. I also just read that an American remake is in the works that will undoubtedly butcher the original. Just check out this one; I give it The 404 Seal of Approval, arf arf you won't be disappointed!

EPISODE 234 Download today's podcast … Read more

The 404 233: Where all dogs go to jail

On today's show, dogs, dogs and more dogs! Why? We have no idea. We talk about Bentley the driving dog, an animal abuser who gets served with poetic justice and, of course, the release of cutesy dog movie BOLT. A cell phone saves one man's life, Second Lifers get physical and Canada's biggest losers win in court. Also, angsty teen vampire flick Twilight drops this weekend, get out your Clearisil...

Dan the Mantern here. My favorite story of today is about how Second Life users are getting it on. This article from the BBC describes in vivid detail how to set yourself up for some 3-D lovin. Kudos to the creative programmers who busted out the code that allows for some pretty graphic depictions of virtual anatomy, but, come on people, is this really the way we want future generations to remember how we harnessed technology? Well, at least you don't have to worry about birth control...

EPISODE 223 Download today's podcast … Read more