News Blog

Legislation introduced in Canadian Parliament on Thursday would fine consumers about $500 in Canadian dollars for owning bootleg copies of digital music and up to $20,000 for posting copyrighted music to the Internet or giving away an iPod with music on it.

The changes are designed to bring the country's Copyright Act into the digital age. As it is today, the law does not allow people to copy music onto devices such as MP3 players or computers, according to TheStar.com.

Under the new law, consumers could copy a book, newspaper, or photograph that was legally acquired but couldn't give away the copies or copy material that was borrowed.

Consumers could copy music that was legally acquired but would be prohibited from copying music that was borrowed or rented. It also would be illegal to post copyrighted work on the Internet without the permission of the owner and to circumvent digital locks designed to prevent illegal distribution.

The bill, introduced by Industry Minister Jim Prentice, would allow consumers to record TV and radio programs for playing back later, but it would prohibit them from keeping the copies indefinitely, according to Reuters.

Apple is offering a $45 credit to Canadian owners of older versions of its popular iPod, a move that strikes of deva ju over a similar settlement agreement reached in 2005 with U.S.-based iPod owners.

Under the proposed settlement, as reported in the Montreal-based Gazette newspaper, Apple Canada plans to offer a $45 credit to iPod owners who purchased their music players before June 24, 2005. The credit can be used at Apple's online retail store.

The settlement is over allegations that the iPod batteries failed after three hours in-between charges, compared with its advertised claims of an eight-hour battery life. Up to 80,000 Canadians are expected to be eligible under the proposed settlement, according to the Gazette.

This means the Canadian settlements, which are expected to be wrapped by June 20, could cost Apple up to $3.6 million.

Apple did better with the two Canadian class-action settlements than with its U.S. lawsuits. Under the 2005 U.S. settlement, Apple agreed to provide a $50 store credit and extended warranties to iPod owners who purchased their device between its introduction in 2001 and May 2004.

U.S.-based iPod owners alleged their devices remained charged for four to five hours, verses the 10 hours that were advertised. Up to 2 million U.S. iPod owners were eligible to receive the settlement, pushing the price tag up to $100 million for Apple.

One man's prostitution scandal, apparently, is another man's marketing angle.

(Credit: Virgin Mobile Canada)

Virgin Mobile Canada knows how frustrated people can get with the lack of personalized service these days. Faster than Eliot Spitzer could say, "Um, oops," the company came out with a print ad that features the newly former New York governor, aka Client #9, musing as follows under a thought bubble: "I'm tired of being treated like a number..."

"At Virgin Mobile," the ad goes on to say, "you're more than just a number. When you call us we'll treat you like a person, not a client. Whether you're #9 or #900, you'll get hooked up with somebody who'll finally treat you just how you want to be treated."

According to Nathan Rosenberg, chief marketing officer at Virgin Mobile, the ad will run in two Toronto daily newspapers this week as part of the company's "You call the shots" campaign. "We weren't planning on an ad featuring Governor Spitzer, but he caught our attention this week," said Rosenberg.

The campaign is also featuring Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. What, Canada doesn't have any joke-worthy targets of its own?

(Credit: General Dynamics Canada )

Depleted uranium armor may provide great protection against other tanks, but it's useless against hackers bent on penetrating the networks that tankers and other crews increasingly rely on to move and shoot.

Looking to fill the order for "digital armor," General Dynamics Canada and Secure Computing have teamed up to develop Meshnet, a hardware/software firewall designed to protect networks and digital devices inside tanks and other military vehicles from hostile computer and virus attacks.

Without adequate firewall protection, a tech-savvy enemy could infiltrate the net to eavesdrop, ambush or "blind" a crew by cutting off its information flow. This was reportedly the case during Israel's incursion into South Lebanon last year, where Hezbollah hackers were allegedly able to monitor IDF communications, giving the guerrillas a leg up in attacking Israeli armor.

Inside the M1 Abrams

(Credit: U.S. Army)

Sidewinder consolidates all major Internet security functions into a single system, providing "best-of-breed" antivirus and spyware network protection "against all types of threats, both known and unknown," according to Secure Computing.

The software is packed onto a circuit board slotted inside Meshnet's "ruggedized" olive-drab, conduction-cooled chassis. This not only allows it to operate in the hot, dusty jolt-prone tank interior, but also to avoid clashing with the overall color scheme.

Herschel Island: going, going...

(Credit: Yukon Territorial Government)

The World Monuments Fund has issued a list of the 100 most endangered sites, and it says islands and ruins are being ruined. The northern-most and southern-most sites are both threatened by the effects of global warming, according to the organization. Many sites suffer from normal disintegration--or war, vandalism or heavy tourism. But changing weather patterns are a serious factor in trying to preserve the Fund's most endangered 100 sites.

Take Herschel Island, off the northern shore of Canada's Yukon Territory. And take it quick, it's going to disappear, experts predict. The island's permafrost is melting, and rising seas are eroding the low-lying land. A century-old whaling station on the island has already been moved twice to protect it. Here's a virtual museum of Herschel Island.

Other climate-threatened spots include a mosque being overrun by desert in Mauritania and an explorer's cabin in the Antarctic.

A group of native Canadian tribes are seeking compensation from Manitoba Telecom Services for cell phone signals they claim are violating their air space.

According to the CBC, the Assembly of Manitoba chiefs is trying to negotiate revenue sharing for signals that cross the land, water and air space of their reserves and traditional territories.

"When it comes to using airspace, it's like using our water and simply because there's no precedent doesn't mean that it's not the right thing to do," Chief Ovide Mercredi of the Grand Rapids First Nation told the news agency.

Blog community response:

"An interesting stance to First Nations rights and land claims. I had never even thought to consider that the air around us could be a valuable leverage tool in negotiations."
--Sonny Assu

"Honestly, this is the type of claim that is just going to 1) lose you all kinds of credibility, and 2) cast every legitimate claim you make in a bad, bad light."
-- Phase 1: Collect Underpants

"Using your airspace to send telecommunication signals, however, has no effect on your use of that airspace. Others can send as many signals as they wish, and the quantity of airspace available to you is undiminished. In fact, absent high-tech telecommmunication-monitoring equipment, how would the chiefs even know whether someone is sending cell phone signals through their airspace? If negotiations with Manitoba Telecom Services reach an impasse, I'd like to see the chiefs try a blockade."
--Magic Statistics

Hydrogen cars rallying, Vancouver, Canada

(Credit: International Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Conference)

Biofuel. Hybrid cars. Electric cars. Hydrogen. Those are some of the bright ideas in the future of car tech. Many proponents of the hydrogen fuel cell gathered in Vancouver, Canada, recently to discuss their problems and the promises.

This video from that conference shows hydrogen cars on the road. Models from four manufacturers made a 150-mile round trip during the meeting. DaimlerChrysler predicts that by 2015 there'll be millions of hydrogen cars on the road. The company claims that's not just a lot of hot air.

Sea otters together at Vancouver Aquarium

(Credit: cynthiaholmes on YouTube)

Forget copyrighted comedy ripped off from some cable channel. Even forget the made-for-YouTube teen fantasy. This is real video of a real-life couple, laid bare before all the world. And the world, as reflected by YouTube, seems to love it.

You may be the last person on earth who hasn't already seen the hand-holding otters. The video is years old, but it wasn't posted until March. In less than two months, nearly 6 million viewings have been recorded.

Canadian TV reports the two otters have become big celebrities thanks to the video. Here you can learn the two otters are named Nayak and Milo. Nayak is one tough little lady, a survivor of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Google search shows over 540,000 pages when you search "hand holding sea otters." Maybe Animal Planet and National Geographic are onto something.

If you want to see the otters in person, you gotta go to the Vancouver, B.C., Aquarium. They actually hold hands for safety in the open ocean, so the video is not a fluke.