canada

The 404 Podcast 499: Where we turn our heads and cough

In case you didn't catch the preshow, today's show title is in honor of Jeff and Wilson both visiting the doctor...here's hoping they're at the same time. Before we get to the show, be sure to head out for your free tacos from Taco Bell, then come back for another hilarious Friday episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast.

We've always been valiant supporters of Conan O'Brien, so it's very disappointing to see that NBC is supposedly giving Leno the 11:30 p.m. spot and pushing The Tonight Show back to 12:05 a.m. Jeff and Wilson definitely feel more vehemently about the decision than I do, but I'm starting to see Jay in a similarly desperate light--whatever happened to bowing out with respect? We're hoping this was actually posted by Conan, but someone put The Tonight Show on Craigslist. Listed as "barely-used" and up for sale to the highest bidder, the ad spells out a hilariously specific requirement: the buyer must honor the scheduled Barry Manilow booking for next Thursday.

With all the tablet rumors surrounding the next Apple Event on January 26, it's refreshing to hear that the next iPhone might feature a touch-sensitive back. According to Goldman Sachs analyst Robert Chen, the fourth-gen iPhone might come with a case similar to the Apple Magic Mouse that you can pinch, pull, and tap. A "touch-sensitive back," you say? The jokes almost write themselves....but you better believe we still go there.

We also spend some time in the second half of the show on the earthquake disaster in Haiti. Much thanks and support to the soldier who called in with a voice mail about the effort! We're urging everyone to do their part and text HAITI to 90999 to give $10 to the Red Cross. Also, please help us spread the word that American Airlines is taking volunteer doctors and nurses to Haiti for free, just call 212-697-9767 for more details. Red Cross also needs more Creole-speaking volunteers for their 24-hour phone bank, so get in touch with them if you can.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Episode 499 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Slacker brings Canadians into the fold

While I write this, I am enjoying a custom-built station on Slacker Radio, and as of last night, Canadians can do this as well. The news is a big win for both Canada and Internet radio, and is thanks in no small part to BlackBerry, which has a huge presence in the country and a growing relationship with Slacker.

No doubt, many Canadians will be thrilled with this announcement, as I've had no small number of them e-mail me about various music recommendation and streaming services. However, Slacker won't be exactly the same in Canada. Residents will only … Read more

NORAD posts rare video of its command center

This is not your "War Games" fan's NORAD.

If the picture in your head of the North American Aerospace Defense Command's operations center is straight out of that 1983 Matthew Broderick movie, you may need to replace it.

That real-life command center, where personnel from the militaries of the United States and Canada keep a watchful eye out for threats from the sky, is no longer buried deep under Cheyenne Mountain. It is, however, still in Colorado Springs, Colo. Today, it is housed at Peterson Air Force Base, and it is a joint venture with the … Read more

Examiner.com invades 5 Canadian cities

Hyper-local publishing company Examiner.com is set to launch its service in five Canadian cities.

According to the organization, Examiner will now provide localized content to those living in Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver. The company will also offer national content for all those not living in the five cities.

Examiner is growing up quickly since its launch in April 2008. Examiner now provides localized content in 162 U.S. cities, according to a company spokesperson. It plans to add 40 more markets in the coming months. With the expansion to Canada now under way, the spokesperson told me … Read more

BOL 1087: Google's leaky cloud

Have a Google Voicemail account? Have some voicemails in there? I may have listened to them today! Thanks to some leaks in the Google cloud (rain?) it seems some folks voicemails are searchable on Google. Glad that eye appointment went well! Also Verizon and Motorola are bringing it to the iPhone. But will Verizon have to make a switch next year if the rumors are true?

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1087

Verizon’s anti-iPhone gets its first commercial: ‘Droid Does’ http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/17/verizons-anti-iphone-gets-its-first-commercial-droid-does/ … Read more

Google Street View arrives in 11 Canadian cities

Google announced on Wednesday that it has launched its Street View service to 11 cities in Canada, including Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa, among others.

Google Street View, which originally launched in May 2007, allows users to virtually navigate neighborhoods in 14 countries around the world. When the service first launched, it was only available in five U.S. cities.

Street View has come under some fire since its debut for the service's alleged potential to infringe the privacy of those people found in its images. To address that issue in Canada, Google said in a statement that it &… Read more

Canadian cops armed with Big Blue analytics

IBM on Tuesday announced that Canada's Edmonton Police Service is using IBM business analytics technology to help reduce crime, improve force effectiveness, and increase public safety.

The goal of the software is to help law enforcement agencies "obtain the right information at the right time--even before a crime may have been committed--to inform police officers so they can stay on top of and prevent criminal activities, identify crime 'hot spots,' and ultimately reduce crime rates."

With business analytics technology, Edmonton police are able to see data in near-real time. They put crime information directly into the hands … Read more

Skype comes to Canadian iPhones

Good news for Canadian iPhone owners. On Wednesday, Skype for iPhone finally crossed the border into Canada, where it is now available for download from the App Store. The well-known voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, app first became available for the Apple smartphone about five months ago, on March 29.

Skype for iPhone handles the basics of its desktop PC-to-PC and PC-to landline calling service. It offers free calls between Skype users over a Wi-Fi connection; Apple won't allow 3G-based data calls.

The app can, however, use 3G and EDGE data connections for non-call-related activities such as signing … Read more

Review: TomTom U.S.& Canada GPS iPhone app

TomTom U.S. & Canada is the third full-feature turn-by-turn flat-fee navigation app with built-in map in the App Store that covers the entire U.S. and Canada.

Like the first two apps, Navigon and iGo My Way, the TomTom app will turn your iPhone 3G or 3GS into a decently dependable driving navigator. However, like the other two, it's far from perfect.

The TomTom app takes about 6 seconds to load on my iPhone 3GS, which is very fast (the other two apps take about 15 seconds), and displays a very easy-to-use interface with big buttons. It also offers a quick and convenient way to enter an address or to find a point of interest (POI) from its very large database of POIs.

After almost a week of use, I found that both the map and POI database are slightly outdated. It once couldn't find an address and twice showed me POIs that were no longer in business. During this recession, however, it's not exactly the app that's to blame.

Good news is, like the Navigon after itsfirst update, you can tab on a POI to dial it up, and I would highly recommend doing this before you decide to go there, just to make sure that it's still in business.

Similar to the Navigon, the TomTom can also pull addresses from the phone's contacts, which is a very convenient feature. However, while the Navigon is very good at reading contacts' addresses, the TomTom is very picky. It seems to only understand addresses that have a ZIP code. Take the ZIP code out and it will ask you to enter the address manually. This means more than 60 percent or so of the addresses in my contacts won't work. This is sort of strange as the app won't require a ZIP code when you type in addresses manually.

The TomTom takes very little time (a few seconds) to pick up a GPS signal on my iPhone 3GS and its navigation is accurate enough. Once in awhile it would probably lead you to a location that's slightly off from the actual address but that happens with every GPS navigator I've used.

Of the three apps, the TomTom has the largest selection of voices, including many languages from English to Danish, Thai, and Chinese. With English alone, you'll find 11 different accents, both male and female. Still, like the other two apps, it doesn't have text-to-speech where it can read you the name of the street that you're supposed to turn into.

The TomTom's map view, unfortunately, is not as good looking as that of the Navigon or the iGo My Way.… Read more