Explosion kills student at Ottawa school

An 18-year-old student was killed and another was seriously injured when an oil drum exploded Thursday in an auto shop at Ottawa's Mother Teresa Catholic High School.Paramedics who were called to the school in late morning confirmed the 18-year-old, a male, died at the scene.A 17-year-old boy was in serious condition after suffering internal organ injuries from the blast. At least three other students were injured. A drum of oil in the shop is believed to have ignited, causing the blast, according to witnesses. It is not known exactly how the drum exploded, but students from the class said the drum contained peppermint oil, which is combustible when exposed to heat.The school of about 1,400 was evacuated and the students transported to Longfields-Davidson Heights Secondary School.Students and a teacher told CBC News that the school's public address system was down, and the order to evacuate had to be given verbally from class to class.

My Opinion :

This event is extremely tragic, and it is truly unfortunate that something such as this occurred. I find that this is very uncommon and there should be new protocol for Auto shop classes, because there should be no flammable oil around any source of fire. The worst part of it all is the emotional pain that his parents will have to go through for the rest of their lives. I believe this event could have been prevented, but at least three of the four Vitim's are still alive. Schools should begin to be more cautious, especially when working with dangers chemicals in dangerous situations/environments. Overall, this event is unfortunate, and hopefully something like this should never happen again, because it is heartbreaking.

Slave Lake residents face wait to go home after fire

Residents of fire-ravaged Slave Lake will not be allowed to return home for at least a week, possibly two, says the mayor of the northern Alberta town. This is due to the huge fire that happend the other day, which was mentioned in a previous blog post. The entire town, which is relatively small, located 250 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, was evacuated Sunday when wind-whipped wildfires suddenly turned and blazed through town, destroying more than a third of its homes, along with the town hall and government centre. It is truly unfortunate that everyone had to evacuate. Approximately 100 firemen/police are patrolling the town day and night. There are 100 forest fires burning across central and northern Alberta Tuesday — 23 of them out of control and evacuation alerts are in place for more than a half-dozen small communities in the Slave Lake region. Since the fire there have been many relief donations to help rebuild the town to what it once was. This event was truly unexpected and has harmed so much of the small Slave Lake town.

My Opinion :

After recently commenting on this event several events have changed, now the people are not able to return to the homes for approximately 1-2 weeks which is truly unfortunate and harsh especially at this time of year, as school is coming to an end and the weather is brightening up. Thankfully the town is recieving several donations which is very great to hear! I just can't believe how 100 forest fires burned accross Alberta, and I would like to salute everyone who is involved in rebuilding the community and who has stop the fire. Overall it is obviously a misfortune that this happend and it is great to here that the community will soon be up to par within time. Most importantly no one was harmed.

Wildfires cut off Slave Lake, Alta.

The town of Slave Lake, Alta., remained cut off from the south by wildfires early Monday, a day after two out of control blazes forced people to flee and burned out many buildings in the town of 7,000. The highways were blocked for approximately 70 kilometers below the town due to the fire/trees burning, it is reported that they will not be restored until next week. The fire caught almost everyone in the community by surprise, due to the fact that there were 80 kilometer winds that day.
“It has been heart wrenching to see how quickly this wildfire moved and the effect it’s had on our community,” Slave Lake Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee said in a statement issued by the Alberta government. Approximately 30% of the towns buildings burned down.
"The town is gone," one woman told CBC News. "There's nothing left. There's places where there should have been houses, and they're gone. We lost everything." Fortunately there were no injury reports.

My Opinion :

I feel that this event is extremely tragic especially in such a small town with a population of a mere 7,000. I find that events like this truly bring sadness to everyone especially those living in the town. Everything was piratically destroyed. These environmental events are occurring more and more throughout the years and I believe that things like this are caused by global warming, which is ultimately because of us. This event almost puts things into perspective as far as we take everything for granted and that things can disappear with a blink of an eye. Overall I feel for the people in this town, and I hope these events bring them closer. They are all truly fortunate to be alive as reports said there were no injury reports.

Nintendo cuts price of Wii

 Nintendo is dropping the price of its Wii game system by $50 to $150 and introducing a new line of cheaper Wii games.Starting May 15, the newly priced Wii system will come in either black or white with a “Mario Kart Wii” game and a Wii Wheel accessory, replacing the previously included “Wii Sports” and “Wii Sports Resort” games.The price cut – the second one since the Wii launched for $250 in 2006 – comes less than a month after the Japanese company announced the console will have a successor next year. Nintendo Co. said in late April it will show off a playable model of the new system at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, which runs June 7-9 in Los Angeles.The company said Wednesday that the “Nintendo Selects” collection of games will come with a suggested retail price of $20. The four games include “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess,” “Animal Crossing: City Folk,” “Mario Super Sluggers and Wii Sports.” It's the first time “Wii Sports” will be sold separately rather than packaged with the Wii.The Wii redefined gaming when it launched nearly five years ago, expanding video game audience by offering intuitive motion controllers instead of complex buttons. But the Wii isn't as technologically powerful as its counterparts from Sony and Microsoft, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. Unlike those two, it doesn't offer high-definition images.

My Opinion :

I agree with Nintendo cutting the price on Wii because compared to the other leading game systems Wii has lost alot of its potential customers. I think it is a great idea for them to sell Wii sports seperately because that is one of the main attractions of the Wii. Personally, I only play Wii with groups of people which is its only use and I think that it is good that Wii is relating back to easier/user friendly games such as Mario Cart which we know everyone loves. From a company stand point I believe that Nintendo has made the right decisions, hopefully resulting in a bright future.

Sony offers free games after PlayStation data breach

 Due to the fact that the Playstation Network was hacked and was down for just over 4 weeks users in Canada and U.S of the Playstation Network will get free game downloads and video rentals as a welcome "mat". This doesn't seem like much especially that a network as big as Playstation has been down for such a long time, and truly has disappointed its users. This is why Playstation announced that Network members will be able to download two Playstation 3 or PSP Games for free from the select list during the 30 days after the Playstation Network has come back online. It is announced all its services will be back May 31.  It doesn't seem like alot to many of the users but at least it is better then nothing.

My Opinion :

First and foremost I believe that the Playstation Network should be doing alot more for the users as there Network has been down for over 1 month, which is a huge disappointment to all of its users. Many of the users perhaps switched to xbox because they couldn't handle 2 months of unannounced waiting time. Therefore I believe that the PSN should be offering larger rewards/welcoming gifts for the users including free Gold membership for 3 months or something that will actually benefit the users because the network was down for 1 months and the users should be given more then that. Once again, this is a huge disappointment and hopefully the network will regain its once trustful reputation.

How bin Laden emailed without being detected

Regardless of having no Internet access, Bin Ladin was a profilic email writer who built a painstaking system that kept him one step ahead of the U.S. government's best eavesdroppers. His methods, described in new detail to The Associated Press by a counter terrorism official and a second person briefed on the U.S. investigation, served him well for years and frustrated Western efforts to trace him through cyberspace. The arrangement allowed bin Laden to stay in touch worldwide without leaving any digital fingerprints behind. The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive intelligence analysis.
Bin Laden's system was built on discipline and trust. But it also left behind an extensive archive of email exchanges for the U.S. to scour. The trove of electronic records pulled out of his compound after he was killed last week is revealing thousands of messages and potentially hundreds of email addresses, the AP has learned.Holed up in his walled compound in northeast Pakistan with no phone or Internet capabilities, bin Laden would type a message on his computer without an Internet connection, then save it using a thumb-sized flash drive. He then passed the flash drive to a trusted courier, who would head for a distant Internet cafe.At that location, the courier would plug the memory drive into a computer, copy bin Laden's message into an email and send it. Reversing the process, the courier would copy any incoming email to the flash drive and return to the compound, where bin Laden would read his messages offline.

My Opinion :

All i can say is wow! This completely amazes me in two ways. First I can't believe that Osama would come up with something like this which truly proves his true self and how he really is such a bad person. Secondly it reveals flaws in the U.S government and how they wouldn't think of this before him or be able to detect it. The process completely amazes me, and also Osama's desperation is quite disturbing. None the less, at least we found out what he was doing and in the future we will no better to detect it.

RIM recalls 1,000 PlayBooks

 Research In Motion has recalled about 1,000 of its PlayBook tablets due to a faulty operating system — a tiny fraction of the devices expected to be sold this spring but another bump in the BlackBerry maker's shaky transition to a new generation of products. “The number, at about 1,000, is relatively small given expectations for tens, if not hundreds of thousands of units, sold in the coming weeks,” Edward Jones technology analyst Bill Kreher said Monday. This is unfortunate because the company needs to hurry up and compete with other tablets such as the ipad. None the less it is expected that many units will still be sold regardless of this small set back. Kreher said he expects 500,000 PlayBook computer tablets to be sold in the first quarter and a total of two million over 12 months.But Kreher said it's “absolutely critical” that Research In Motion get its upcoming new BlackBerrys smart phones to market without any problems. Like any successful business is important to be flawless as a company in order to make the most profit, as it is extremely important to execute a new product properly. RIM said the majority of the affected devices were still at retailers and hadn't reached customers and involved problems in the initial setup of the device. The recall only affected the 16-gigabyte version of the PlayBook. Through these flaws many have criticized RIM for being too slow to react to the young, yet highly competitive, tablet market where Apple Inc. has a stronghold with its iPad device. This could play as a problem to the new launch of the PlayBook.

My Opinion :

I think that RIM should have sat out on this one as they know that they have to compete with the Ipad Two and should of either not created the product or waited abit to have more attraction to the launch. Unfortunately they had to recall a thousand products which evidently has lowered there reputation. Personally I would chose an Ipad over a PlayBook every day because Apple is just that much better as a company. Overall, RIM made a huge mistake and has to suffer the consequences which could put there product in jeopardy.

Team Six

Team Six is the group of the super-secret SEALs who killed bin Laden. They are top secret, tough guys who won't even admit they exist. But the exploits of the men in the U.S. Navy SEALs' Team Six — the Naval Special Warfare Development Group — made headlines around the world after they dropped out of the sky into a fortified compound in Pakistan and fatally shot Osama bin Laden in the head.
About two dozen SEALs from the elite military counterterrorism unit wearing night-vision goggles stormed the compound and left about three-quarters of an hour later with bin Laden's body. Their names may never be revealed.
"A lot of these missions — a majority of these missions — are ones that the public will never know about … and that's a good thing," SEAL spokesman Capt. Duncan Smith told ABC News.
Technically, Team Six doesn't exist. Its highly trained members are so-called black operatives who work outside military protocol on top-secret missions and often act outside the boundaries of international law, according to a report on the Business Insider website.

My Opion:

First and foremost I believe that the group who killed Osama should be charished in its own way, not praised but saluted. The group is oviouslly the best of its kind and as stated above they are to not be reveled, "like the group doesn't even exist" I believe that this team is one of the most importantly skilled group of SEALs in the world. I think that its right how they don't reveal any of the members or information to the public because it keeps us safe in the sense that we shouldn't the bad that happends in the world and how it plays out. As far as the play out of the operation I believe it was the highest quality mission and excelled. On a side note, regardless of the fact that Bin Ladin killed all of the citizens it doesn't mean they should go and just kill him it sets a poor example in the world as it has been all over the new lately.

Honda Canada tells customers hackers stole personal data

Honda Canada has informed thousands of its Honda and Acura customers that some of their personal information was stolen when its systems were hacked.The company said the information accessed was related to a program in 2009 that encouraged customers to register at the My Honda website in an alert posted on its website, Honda said details such as customer names, addresses, vehicle identification numbers and in some cases Honda Financial Services account numbers were accessed. The company said the information didn’t include data typically used for identity theft or fraud, such as birth dates, credit card numbers and bank account numbers.“Honda sincerely apologizes for this incident and we are working diligently to protect your information and improve our data security procedures,” the company said.Honda recommend that customers to be alert to marketing campaigns from third parties that reference their ownership of a Honda, but otherwise recommended no other specific action.

My Opinion:

Overall, this is another horrifying event in the technological world. I think this is truly unbelievable, because Sony and Honda just got hacked at relatively the same time. I think this is a red alert for major companies throughout the world to protect their data, and to reinforce their protection systems. It is truly unfortunate that Honda was hacked, and it is again a finable suit.A lot of personal information was leaked throughout this hacked. Honda users will most likely be evaluating their choice in cars, and Honda will potentially lose some customers.

Lone black bears pose deadlier risk: study

Hikers are often taught to be wary of the mother bear protecting her cubs, but new research shows that lone male black bears are more dangerous than their female counterparts, which is quite surprising. Most of the fatal black bears attacks in North America in the last 110 years were the result of male bears targeting humans as food, according to an article published Wednesday in the Journal of Wildlife Management by University of Calgary professor Stephen Herrero. Researchers looked at all the black bear deaths in North America between 1900 and 2009, excluding those caused by bears kept in captivity. The study found that 63 people were killed in 59 incidents. Of those, 88 per cent involved a bear "exhibiting predatory behaviour" and 92 per cent of the bears were male. It is truly unfortunate. What is important that the research can be used to learn how to protect and prevent the events from occurring. While the rise in bear attacks has been correlated to the rise in the human population, fatal bear attacks are more common in Canada and Alaska, likely because bears are living in less productive food habitat with periodic food stress, Herrero said. This relations to global warming and the climate change in which many bears have to change there living habits.

My Opinion :

I think that this research study is very important, especially for the avid hikers. Bears in general are very dangerous and are obviously not meant to interact with humans, which will lead to horrifying results. What is most important that through this study the researchers are able to identify ways in which to prevent and protect ourselves from interactions with Bears. I find the statistics odd due to the fact that most incidents are involved with males, where I would predict that mothers would be protecting their cubs. I think this is because the bears have been forced to change there living habits and I believe more and more of these events will continue to occur. Overall I agree with the study and I think this information is very good in relation to hikers and people in general, hopefully this will raise awareness for those who were unaware.

Canadians' love of texting bigger than ever

Canada was the birthplace of the Blackberry and Mobile Email, and one of the worlds most group of frequent facebook users, but we are avid texters. Texting actually began in 2002 and still remains popular in Canada. According to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, 56.4 billion texts were sent in Canada in 2010, up 60 per cent from the 35.3 billion sent the previous year. That's an average of 4.7 billion a month, or 154.5 million a day, which is insane! there's something about texting that's stuck with consumers, said association spokesman Marc Choma."I think text messaging has a certain appeal just because it is so instant and so quick and all you have to know is a person's phone number," Choma said. These incredible statistics make users actually think how much do they text? Of the texts sent in 2010, about 2.3 billion were of the common short code text variety, which are often used to interact with businesses and charities. That was up 36 per cent over 2009. These short forms are examples such as lol and ttyl. Texting will tend to increase each year and Canada is one of the main contributors of this statistic.

My Opinion :

This is a shocking topic with unbelievable statistics. I was completely unaware how much people text, especially in Canada, and how technology has truly taken over the world. It is quite amazing how something only introduced 8 years ago has completely taken over the world and Canada. It has altered the way people think, act, and most of all type/write. After short forms and abbreviations have been introduced many people have changed and almost altered there grammar to say things like lol and rofl. I think this has also made people lazier as people can send a message to someone with just a few pushes of a few buttons. Regardless, texting was a great invention and the world wouldn't be where it is today with texting and forms of IM (Instant Messaging), it is just surprising to see such high statistics from Canada.

Sony to restore PlayStation Network by end of May

 Sony said on Tuesday, that they plan on restoring the whole PlayStation network by the end of May. The Sony Network was actually hacked and has been hacked for just over 2 weeks now. Sony also confirmed that personal data from 24.6 million user accounts was stolen in the hacker attack last month. Personal data, including credit card numbers, might have been stolen from another 77 million PlayStation accounts, said Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. spokesman Satoshi Fukuoka.

Sony shut down the PlayStation network, a system that links gamers worldwide in live play, on April 20 after discovering the security breach. The network also allows users to upgrade and download games and other content.

 Fortunately Sony has not received reports of illegal use of information. Currently Sony is trying to find the hacker. This was a huge upset for Sony and was held under some harsh criticism. Mainly because the company didn't tell its users until about 6 days after the hack. Last month, U.S. lawyers filed a lawsuit against Sony on behalf of lead plaintiff Kristopher Johns for negligent protection of personal data and failure to inform players in a timely fashion that their credit card information may have been stolen. The lawsuit seeks class-action status.

My Opinion :

I believe this event is truly tragic especially to the users of Sony not just Sony itself. This event is a disgrace to Sony and it is unbelievable that a network such as Sony can be hacked with such ease. This is truly a disappointment to all of its users. Not only did they get hacked but the way Sony is handling this situation is improper. Yesterday the Sony Network was functioning but there were many issues as far as account registration and alot of the users were complaining. Overall this is a huge downgrade to the Sony reputation and alot of members have lost trust in Sony and I believe that many users perhaps switched to Xbox or another game system.

IMF chief Strauss-Kahn on suicide watch: report

International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, charged with trying to rape a maid at a New York hotel where he was staying, has been placed under a suicide watch in jail, officials say.Norman Seabrook, who heads New York City's corrections officer union, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Strauss-Kahn was under the watch at Rikers Island. A law enforcement official also confirmed that Strauss-Kahn was placed under the watch after undergoing a mental health evaluation. The official said the 62-year-old Strauss-Kahn did not try to harm himself.The banker and diplomat has a whole jail wing to himself, a medical device to make sure he doesn't stop breathing at night and guards checking him 24 hours a day to make sure he doesn't kill himself. Strauss-Kahn was held without bail and sent to Rikers on Monday. He has been given protective custody in the jail, assigned to a facility that normally houses inmates with contagious diseases. He has also had previous experiences in sexual offenses. His bail was denied and he will be remained in jail .

My Opinion :

This topic is slightly disgusting in the sense that this man is a worldly known man and for him to do something like this just makes you thing of all the crazy people out there. In addition I am happy a man like this is put in jail. I find it odd how he now wants to kill himself due to the fact that the public knows about this situation. Previous reports says he hasn't and currently is having health issues. Thankfully his bail was denied and he will remain in jail.

Four Canadian soldiers injured in Afghan helicopter crash

Four Canadian soldiers were injured, one of them seriously, when a Chinook helicopter crashed on landing under moonlight in a remote part of Panjwaii district in southern Afghanistan early Monday morning. The chopper, carrying five crew and about 25 soldiers along with a Canadian Press journalist, flipped onto its side, throwing men and equipment into a mad tangle of bodies, weapons and gear. This event was truly heart breaking to many Canadians especially those belonging to the families of those who were in the crash. This event is also unexpected due to the fact that the helicopter pilots should be highly trained. “The noise was just horrifying,” said one soldier of the hull and rotors scraping. This quote shows how tragic this event was and how an event like this can truly alter the mood of those in the war. Many of those who were on the chopper spent several disoriented minutes trapped in the confusion but everyone was finally able to make their way from the stricken craft and into the dusty moonlit night safely.
Soldiers immediately began setting up a security , and quickly went to work in near darkness, using only small flash lights or headlamps on the injured, one of whom screamed and moaned in agony.

My Opinion :

This event may seem like a minor news story, but I believe that this event is truly eye opening to the dangers of the war. Not only is the war dangerous but the circumstances the soldiers undergo before war are quite dangerous. This event shows how anything can happen at any time. Luckily no one was hurt and only few were harmed. This event can cause many things including new protocol for choppers and will obviously make everyone in the army think/act more carefully. This is an eye opener to the public in the sense that we understand the tragedies of war slightly more due to the fact that occurrences like this can happen every day. I also believe that this event is mildly blown out of perspective just because it is from those who are in the forces. Overall this news story is a great example of an event that opens many eyes of the public.

Tories fall, election set for May

OTTAWA - After more than five years as the leader of minority government, Prime Minister Stephen Harper finally lost the confidence of the House of Commons on Friday and will ask Gov. Gen. David Johnston Saturday morning to dissolve Parliament for a general election widely expected to be held on May 2.

No prime minister of a minority government in Canada's history went as long as Harper without losing a vote of confidence.
"The vote today, which obviously disappoints me, will, I suspect, disappoint most Canadians," Harper told reporters shortly after his government fell.
"Mr. Ignatieff and his coalition partners in the NDP and Bloc Quebecois made abundantly clear that they had already decided they wanted to force an election instead -- Canada's fourth election in seven years, an election Canadians had told them clearly that they do not want."
Harper said that, instead of an election, Canadians, in his opinion, would have preferred Parliament to have approved his budget, "the next phase of Canada's economic action plan," he called it, that "is critically important to Canada's economic recovery."
But his opponents said it was time for a change, that the government's priorities were not those of Canadians and, and that Harper was displaying what Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe said was "a repugnant attitude"
and an "ideological agenda."
The motion that brought the government down was not, technically, a rejection of the budget. Instead, MPs were asked if they agreed "with the finding of the standing committee on procedure and house affairs that the government is in contempt of Parliament, which is unprecedented in Canadian parliamentary history, and consequently, the House has lost confidence in the government."
Liberals, Bloquistes and New Democrats - all 156 of them - voted in favour.
Conservatives and the two independent MPs - all 145 - voted against.
"We have a government whose most senior members stand accused of electoral fraud. We have a prime minister who appointed, as his top advisor, someone who served prison time for stealing money from his clients, someone who now faces accusations of influence peddling and is under an RCMP investigation,"

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff told the House of Commons.

"Canadians look at that picture and they say, 'We have had enough.' This House has had enough -- enough of the abuse of power and enough of the bad economic choices. It is time for a change."
NDP Leader Jack Layton was the last of the three opposition leaders to finally conclude he could not support the Harper government.
"Mr. Harper has demonstrated that he and his Conservatives have really no interest in working with other parties. He made a choice, and that choice was to take us into an election," Layton said. "And so our goal is to lay out a program that will put families first, as we've always done, and to defeat Conservatives in this upcoming election."

My Opinion :

I believe that Mr. Harper is a valuable Prime Minister in Canada, there is truly no need for an election other then the fact that Micheal Ignatia requests the need for one. This is only the fourth election in Canada over the past 7 years and is truly a controversial issue itself. Mr. Harper has reigned proudly and strongly in Canada, living up to the majority of expectations which is most important. Due to the fact that Stephens minority government lost the confidence vote, there will be an election, but needless to say in my opinion I believe that Stephen and his party will be re-elected. Due to the fact that the Liberal Party did recieve the Confidence vote there may be room for an upset in the election for the Conservative party. This election could possibly change the reign of government of Canada from Conservative to Liberal which will/might be a huge change for Canadian citizens due to the fact that the conservative party has been in reign for quite some time.

GPS: What it can and can't do

Putting too much faith in GPS systems can lead you into trouble! The Global Positioning System (GPS) started out as a U.S. military application for guiding things like bombers and missiles and has become a must-have accessory for family road trips.These days, GPS technology is an option for most new cars and minivans, and hand-held units sell for less than $100. Given the convenience, price and ease of use of GPS, many drivers are abandoning paper maps entirely in favour of a glowing screen and a voice that politely tells them to "turn left in 300 metres" or "merge onto highway." Yet it seems that every week, there’s another story of someone getting profoundly lost following GPS instructions. The Global Positioning System is gaining a reputation for getting people stranded in random destinations. This can play as a huge deal, especially when the product malfunctions.

The most recent example is the case of Albert and Rita Chretien, the B.C. couple that went missing in Nevada. Incredibly, Rita Chretien was found alive after 49 days; but her husband, who left to go in search of help, has yet to be located. Police in Nevada say the Chretiens were likely steered off course by their GPS — they abandoned a high-traffic route for a lesser-known rural road and couldn’t find their way back.

This example shows how dangerous using a GPS can be and many law suits can be fired at the GPS company.


My Opinion :

I was actually unaware of these malfunctions of the GPS systems, and this is highly surprising. Overall I feel a shear sense of disappointment and I am astounded because of the situation with the lady listed above. I have lost a lot of respect for GPS systems as they are advertised to be highly safe, accurate, and effective, but obviously not. I'm surprised that companies aren't being sued for things like this and GPS products are still being sold. Overall this article was a real eye opener and completely changed my point of view on GPS products.

Netflix streaming overtakes surfing as biggest driver of Web traffic

 Netflix movies and videos now take up the Internet through many American homes. A study published Tuesday by Sandvine Inc. shows that Netflix movies and TV shows account for nearly 30 per cent of traffic into homes during peak evening hours, compared with less than 17 per cent for Web browsing. Only about a quarter of homes with broadband subscribe to Netflix, but watching movies and TV shows online takes up a lot of bandwidth compared with Web surfing, e-mail and practically every other Internet activity except file sharing and videoconferencing. As late as last year, Web surfing and peer-to-peer file sharing – mainly the illegal trading of copyrighted movies – were each larger than Netflix’s traffic.
 

The number of Netflix customers is growing quickly, to 23.6 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada as of the end of March. The growing use of the streaming service is good news for the company, which is trying to reduce what it spends to mail DVDs. This site continues to grow every day as it advertises through several YouTube channels and YouTube itself. However, its growing popularity is considered a potential danger to profits for Canada’s cable operators, including Rogers (RCI.B-T36.160.531.49%), Bell (BCE-T37.87), who have the service on their radar as analysts speculate whether Netflix’s array of TV and movie offerings will convince more people to cancel their cable packages. This is causing other business to go bankrupt such as rogers video and blockbuster. This is great for Netflix but obviously bad for the other companies.

My Opinion :

In my personal belief, I believe that Netflix is a great company who had a wonderful invention which dominated the movie market. It is unfortunate that they are moving companies such as Blockbuster and Rogers Video out of business. As well as starting to lower the views of Bell T.V and Rogers On Demand. I believe that soon Netflix will dominate more and more of the market of movies and soon enough will be the only movie company in the world. Overall this article has revealed to me the popularity of Netflix and overall it was a great invention.

B.C. journalist released from Iran

Dorothy Parvaz, a B.C. journalist who was detained on her way to cover anti-government uprisings in Syria and was deported to Iran, has been freed, family members say. Parvaz's father, Fred, told CBC News that his daughter called his Vancouver home around 9:30 p.m. PT from the airport in Doha, Qatar, where she was clearing customs. "It was one of the best moments of my life," he said. "I'm 68 years old and I've never had a moment like it."Fred Parvaz said she indicated she had been treated well. "She was in good spirits, she was in good health," he said, adding that he didn't have any more details on his daughter's release from custody. "Finally, my sister is free," Parvaz's brother, Dan, posted on a Facebook page devoted to securing her release. That page has attracted more than 16,000 followers. Dorothy Parvaz's fiancé, Todd Barker, said he had spoken with her as well. He said she was due to return to Vancouver soon. "She can't get to Vancouver fast enough, in my opinion," he said. A spokesman for her employer, the Al-Jazeera broadcaster, said "we are with her now to find out more about her ordeal over the last nineteen days." A correspondent for Al-Jazeera's English-language channel, Parvaz went missing after she left the broadcaster's base in Qatar on April 29 for Syria to report on the political turmoil there. Last week, Al-Jazeera said it had been told by Syrian officials that Parvaz was sent to Iran after she was detained in Damascus. On Tuesday, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Parvaz had committed several passport violations on her trip to Syria, Ramin Mehmanparast said that the journalist had "travelled to Syria with expired Iranian passport, planned to work without a press permit and had several passports on her." At the time of his comments, Mehmanparast did not offer details on Parvaz's whereabouts. Parvaz is Iranian-born and has Canadian, U.S. and Iranian citizenship. It's unclear what rules could be broken by travelling with multiple valid passports, but Mehmanparast reiterated that Iran does not recognize multiple nationalities for Iranians. Iranians do not need advance visas to enter Syria. Parvaz joined Al-Jazeera in 2010. She was born in Iran and moved to Vancouver as a teenager, later graduating from the University of British Columbia. She also has a masters degree from Arizona University and held journalism fellowships at both Harvard and Cambridge universities. She previously worked as a columnist and feature writer for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in the United States.

My Opinion :

This event is truly breath taking, I am extremely happy that the B.C Journalist, Parvaz was finally released. This event is sort of unexpected because Parvaz was actually born in Iran which makes it weird why there would be any issues. None the less this is an inspirational story to here that she was finally released from being held captive, there family can finally relax and breathe a little now.

Baby named after Facebook button

Inspired by Facebook, a couple in central Israel have named their baby daughter “Like”. “It’s short and sweet,” Vardit Adler, Like’s mother, told Reuters on Tuesday. “It’s very important to me and to my husband that the names we give our children are unique, creative and totally new,” she said. Six-day-old Like has two older sisters, 10-year-old Dvash, Hebrew for honey, and five-year-old Pie, “as in apple pie,” Adler said.

“I’m not worried about other children teasing Like. Dvash and Pie don’t seem to mind their special names and nobody teases them,” Adler said. Surprised by media attention her newborn daughter was getting in Israel, Adler noted that Like has already received hundreds of comments on her own Facebook page.

My Opinion :

Personally, I don't appreciate the fact that anyone would name their child "Like" or anything that co relates with Facebook or anything technology is a disgrace to any name. Personally this just shows how social networking is taking over the world and now people are even naming their children after Facebook options like in this situation. This is kind of mocking the regular names of the world. It is funny how much popularity they have gotten on facebook from this which then backs up my point on how social networking is taking over the world. To be honest this is very disappointing.

Penguins starving due to climate change

      Falling populations of penguins in the West Antarctic Peninsula are being driven by a reduction of their main food source, Antarctic krill, according to a new study. The chinstrap penguin, as shown in this picture are the most vulnerable to the warming climate. Over the time of the global weather increase, they noted that populations of penguin species declined by more than 50 per cent, with fewer juveniles surviving and returning to breed. The penguins are starving and declining in population because of their main food source. They struggle to get food because the polar ice caps have melted and the Antarctic krill migrated north. Also scientists have noticed that due to the melting of the ice more species have struggled to find different food due to their habitat being ruined, therefore there is a lot more competition and a lot of the animals in the Arctic can soon be affected.

My Opinion:

I believe that these issues in the Arctic are quite tragic and due to the fact that the Arctic is just struggling through this now, I can't even imagine what this can lead to in our population once the temperatures still increase. As far as the penguins I feel sorry for them because they are unable to survive and tend to be quite gentile creatures therefore they will get dominated by their competition. The horrible part is that their is really nothing we can do as far as the climate, but I feel as if we should migrate some penguins to zoos due to the fact that they will not starve and they will live a better life. Overall this is truly a horrible issue.

Thought-controlled prosthetic arm vies for prize

A prosthetic arm controlled by its user's thoughts, invented by two Toronto students, is competing for funding to take it to market.
The Artificial Muscle-Operated (AMO) Arm created by Ryerson University biomedical engineering students Michal Prywata and Thiago Caires has a headset that picks up electrical signals from the brain. "When you think about a certain movement, the arm moves accordingly," Prywata told CBC's As it Happens Monday.
The arm can raise and lower at the shoulder and the elbow, rotate its wrist and close its fingers to grasp objects. It is manoeuvred with pneumatic pumps and valves and powered by a small, refillable canister of compressed air in the user's pocket. Tests show that it takes 10 or 15 minutes to learn to move the arm up and down and close the hand, Prywata said. However, the device has not yet been tested by any amputees.
They hope to sell it for around $20,000. They say other prosthetic arms capable of complex movements often sell for more than $80,000.  Prywata said he and Caires envisioned something that didn't require surgery — a limb that would be as easy to purchase as a cellphone. "You lost your arm, you go online, you buy a prosthetic, it comes to your house in a box, you open up the box, you attach it, and you start training."

My Opinion :

First and foremost, this is a wonderful invention! This arm is truly amazing especially how it reacts on what you are thinking. I find it great that they are selling for a considerably lower price the the 80 000 dollar arm, which they are selling theirs at 20 000 dollars. One of the great features, is that is attachable and there is absolutely no surgery which is very important. The only downside is that it has not been tested on a prosthetic, so hopefully once it is, everything will go great and they will get this new invention on the market! Overall this is a wonderful idea, and I hope the very best.

Why not a metered Internet?

More than half of Canadians were surveyed last summer on their thoughts of Internet plans being unlimited – a veritable buffet of bandwidth, with all the high-definition video streaming and file-transferring they could consume.They were completely wrong. More than 90 per cent of the country’s plans are finite, with set limits and stinging charges for going over. The vast majority of people in that poll by Solutions Research Group had never even heard of the concept of paying for Internet based on how much they used. Many Internet providers in the world charge monthly fee's including a certain limit of material downloaded each month, and if that limit is exceeded there shall be an extra charge. The average amount of data downloaded per Canadian each month is approximately 15.4 gigabytes, which is equal to about 10 full films. This has slowly become a concern for many Canadians, also it allows the Internet Providers to take advantage of this opportunity by charging Internet users by the amount of information downloaded/used per month. Thus eliminating monthly rates and creating rates per Internet usage. This could cause many problems.

My Opinion

Personally, I feel as if the Internet is taking advantage of their consumers, there is no need for Internet providers to charge additional fees exceeding monthly fees and having rates per usage. Also i feel as if they are being very secretive because 90% of the customers had no clue about additional fees per exceeding usage. This can cause many terrible things in the world if Internet providers were to start charging rates per usage and personally I would be extremely frustrated if I was a consumer in that situation. Also this opens the market for a new Internet provider to not charge fee's per usage which will make the consumers happy. Overall I feel that the Internet should be sustained at a monthly fee and if they change this many customers throughout the world will probably switch providers.

Last 'Net provider in Egypt goes dark

   The last Internet provider of Egypt known as, the Noor Group, has shut down. The Noor Group was the only Internet service that remained online even after Egypt's 4 main Internet providers shut down which were : Link Egypt, Vodafone/Raya, Telecom Egypt, Etisalat Misr. These Internet providers were becoming flooding due to the "web traffic" in Egpyt due to the over 1,000,000 people in the streets, texting and twittering about this event. Over 1,000,000 people were protesting their government. At about 11:00 p.m Egypt time all Internet services were unreachable. Finally on Saturday Cell Phone service was restored but has been having some trouble due to the high traffic in texting and phone calling.These network providers had to be shut down due to the possible chance of corruption.

My Opinion

      Personally, I believe that this symbolizes the tragedies occurring in Egypt, this truly reveals how serious this event has become and is. During this difficult time, the Egyptians are forced to not rely on the Internet in this terrible time, which also minimizes the popularity of this event. Personally, this would be very hard to be limited to no Internet access in such a tough time, and this event would cause the Egyptians to be more frustrated, thus creating more protesters.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/crisis-in-egypt/last-net-provider-in-egypt-goes-dark/article1889553/

Canadians Eyeing Smart TVs

 Recently, dozing off in front of the TV is becoming just another past time. As Internet-connected television - or smart TV - starts to move into Canadian living rooms, viewers are able to connect to the web when regular TV is also functionable as well. The experience of the TV is now transferring from the "laid back" experience, to the "active/sit up" experience, of a personal computer. With smart TV sets, users are able to access movie services such as Netflix, games, news, and weather. Also Facebook and Twitter are accessable, all by the click of a remote. Smart TVs are attracting a small percent of the TV market but are quickly increasing, having taken over 11% of the TV market as of last November. This incredible device is being to take over the TV market and will eventually occupy it fully. Currently, there are several list prices for this device ranging from 400-2000+ depending on TV size and definition.

My Opinion

After taking this product under my close eye, I have come to a conclusion that this is an incredibly versatile, yet simple, invention. At first i believed that it would be too annoying to use, usually TV has been a more laid back experience but now that TV is supposed to make the user more involved creating access to the Internet and TV. Slowly this idea has grown on me. If i had the chance to purchase a unit, I totally would. Creating an active TV experience is a huge upgrade to the laid back experience, and will get the world more involved and will be using the TV for almost an activity. Including the Internet with TV is a tremendous idea, involving both worlds, Internet and TV with each other, creating the ultimate experience. Overall, this product is a huge upgrade to technology and already has begun to take over the TV market, and will soon be the only type of TV on the market.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/gadgets-and-gear/gadgets/canadians-eyeing-smart-tvs/article1875915/

Nintendo 3DS coming to Canada March 27th

  Nintendo has revealed on Wednesday that the Nintendo 3DS will be released on March 27th to Canada and the United States. This is an upgrade the the Nintendo DS, which has sold nearly 150million units worldwide in the past 7 years. This "toy" of technology was first unveiled during last year's Electronic Entertainment Exposition. Aside from the normal DS functions the two-screened system delivers an adjustable 3-D effect on its upper display. This system is very unique because unlike normal 3-D technology you do not have to wear 3-D glasses to see the 3-D images! The launch price is currently going to be set at $250, making it the most expensive portable gaming system ever released. New hardware features added to this device include advanced processors capable of rendering more sophisticated graphics then the past Nintendo Handholds. Secondly they have included a new circular control nub that will provide players with a more exacting interface then the normal d-pads. Lastly they have included a motion sensor allowing the user to be able to tilt the 3DS to use your game.  

       My Opinion

        First off I would like to start off on a more personal note. Personally, I despise 3-D technology and feel as if most people around the world do, and can find it "eye-straining". Reason being, the 3-D Glasses. Since the Nintendo 3DS allows the user to be able to see 3-D images without wearing those annoying glasses it creates a huge attraction to the product. Secondly bringing 3-D into gaming is a huge accomplishment in technology, and this will most likely start a new trend in 3-D gaming. Overall, I feel this is a wonderful device and will attract lots of children due to the 3-D effects. With this said, this device is not for me, I really enjoy 2-D effects and most likely always will. With that aside i feel that this device is incredible and will suit the needs of the target market.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/video-games/controller-freak/nintendo-3ds-coming-to-canada-march-27th/article1875708/