Slashdot Mirror

Starman9x writes "Over at the The Toronto Star reporter Rachel Ross got a tour of Microsoft's home of the future. She writes with an appropriate amount of humor, given all the easy targets Microsoft has set up. While the writeup is light and witty, there is an unspoken Orwellian undertone to it -- after all, do we really want Microsoft to have that much control over things?"

jverbov writes "A Canadian firm has created what they call an 'intellgent personal robotic companion.' It can be wirelessly connected to your home Internet connection, has a built-in camera and speech recognition software. There's a recent article about it at the Toronto Star." This thing promises a lot, and while the price is steep, it's a lot cheaper than some other household robots due out.

jverbov writes "A Canadian firm has created what they call an 'intellgent personal robotic companion.' It can be wirelessly connected to your home Internet connection, has a built-in camera and speech recognition software. There's a recent article about it at the Toronto Star." This thing promises a lot, and while the price is steep, it's a lot cheaper than some other household robots due out.

Ian_Bailey writes "The Toronto Star is reporting that the first biometrics (Iris-scanning specifically) devices in airport will be in place in Toronto and Vancouver starting in March. These devices are meant to speed-up the check-in process for frequent travellers, without compromising security. It is stressed that privacy advocates have nothing to worry about, because they are completely voluntary and cannot be used to scan without a person's knowledge, but there is a brief note about using it in the future for staff."

Ian_Bailey writes "The Toronto Star is reporting that the first biometrics (Iris-scanning specifically) devices in airport will be in place in Toronto and Vancouver starting in March. These devices are meant to speed-up the check-in process for frequent travellers, without compromising security. It is stressed that privacy advocates have nothing to worry about, because they are completely voluntary and cannot be used to scan without a person's knowledge, but there is a brief note about using it in the future for staff."

PunWork writes "In an effort to promote wireless network security, Toronto consulting firm IpEverywhere (pun intended) has published a map of downtown Toronto, showing the location of both encrypted and unencrypted ('naked') wireless networks. Is this going to help spread awareness, or is this just going to encourage people to abuse the (apparently) ignorant? The Toronto Star has a story about the map and the consulting firm here."

Lew Pitcher writes "Well, it took a Canadian court to find that a Canadian citizen can own the domain name canadian.biz without being a beer (or a beer company). The Toronto Star is reporting that the Ontario Superiour Court has overruled ICANN's decision to take domain canadian.biz from its current owner and give it to Molson's Breweries (makers of "Canadian" brand beer). A spokesperson for Molsons gave the obligatory statement about disappointment in the decision, and indicated that it was too early to determine if Molsons would appeal the decision. Score one against the bad guys."

GRW writes "Rachel Ross in a Toronto Star story called The mouse that soared, writes "Fifty years ago, a team of engineers in Toronto turned a simple bowling ball into one of the most influential gadgets of our time. The trackball they created would grow into a mouse." "Tom Cranston and a colleague, Fred Longstaff, thought up the trackball idea while working on a Lake Ontario military project called the Digital Automated Tracking and Resolving System (DATAR)."" I played a bowling game in Boston once that used a bowling ball sized trackball to run a ball through a bizarre 3D bowling lane. I thought a regular trackball messed with my wrists ;)

GRW writes "Rachel Ross in a Toronto Star story called The mouse that soared, writes "Fifty years ago, a team of engineers in Toronto turned a simple bowling ball into one of the most influential gadgets of our time. The trackball they created would grow into a mouse." "Tom Cranston and a colleague, Fred Longstaff, thought up the trackball idea while working on a Lake Ontario military project called the Digital Automated Tracking and Resolving System (DATAR)."" I played a bowling game in Boston once that used a bowling ball sized trackball to run a ball through a bizarre 3D bowling lane. I thought a regular trackball messed with my wrists ;)

abde writes "The Tick finally premieres this Thursday on FOX at 7:30 PM CST. Looks like Patrick Warburton finally gets to spread some creamy Justice on our toast!" Here's hoping that this show comes close to it's source materials. It's in a tough time slot, so I really hope it sticks around long enough to find a footing. Good luck to you Ben (I know you're reading!) In other TV news, Salon reviewed The buffy musical which aired on tuesday. Since my local basic cable doesn't provide UPN, I haven't seen it. I've been loving FX syndicating what is easily among my favorite shows: hot chicks, sharp humor, and monster killing. It may be the perfect show. I just wish TV was available via FTP.

Tabercil writes: "Well, here's one for those who insist that human genes shouldn't be patented, as it seems to vindicate them. According to the Toronto Star, a U.S. firm (Myriad Genetics Laboratories) has patented two genes which lead to a greater likelihood of cancer. Now it's sending out cease and desist notices for other entities testing for the gene, insisting that only they can properly test for the gene."

nilstar writes: "Rogers Cable wants to dump (slow) WebTV and move to linux based boxes to connect all the major appliances in your home: stereo, tv, computer, etc. via broadband using rogers@home in a service called "triple play". Will this really happen after MS invested C$600 in Rogers? Here is the press release. As the article here on the star says: 'Rogers Cable Inc. will begin testing a new service next month that turns all the communications, computing and entertainment devices in a home into a high-speed smorgasbord of interactive experiences."' Why do I bet these would only be useful with one company's cable service?

slantyyz writes: "A fascinating and possibly scary scientific discovery -- Toronto scientists have discovered a "chisel of life" gene that kills cells. Apparently this ancient gene, dubbed AIF [apoptosis (death) inducing factor] is found across all forms of life and acts as a cell executioner. While this could have uses in killing cancer cells, it could potentially open the discovery of a true fountain of youth." Nature has more, if you're a subscriber.

nitemayr writes: "The Toronto Star, along with many other publications, report that many Canadian broadcasts are now V-Chip ready. The V-Chip (which I'm sure you will remember) allows viewers to filter television based upon ratings imposed by others. This is a boon to lazy parents everywhere (In Canada) who can now safely lock their 'kidz' in front of the tube without having to worry about them seeing violence or mayhem, unless they watch the news, or a documentary, or almost anything on the CBC (Candadian Broadcast Company)" " Invisible to viewers, the rating code triggers the chip, which turns the television screen to black if the rating is too high." Really.

BurpingWeezer writes: "Whoa. Here's something that caught my eye. The CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) is considering designating high-speed Internet services provided in Canada an essential service. Now before you blow your top that CRTC designation would only set "minimum standards for " ... "service because it is deemed essential to the quality of life in Canada." On the other hand look at what the designation has done for phone service. (Now you can blow your top.) The focus is on the needs of business customers but with residential users in mind. I guess there are enough complaints against Rogers@Home and Bell Sympatico that the CRTC is thinking of flexing its regulatory muscles. Before our American cousins to the south start on government intervention remember that it's because of the CRTC that no high-speed Internet company in Canada is able to charge residential customer more than CAD$50 per month. (I'm told that dirt cheap compared to the U.S.) Many Canadians will welcome this."

_J_ writes: "The Toronto Star has This Article on their Web site about method to "trap light." Since they call it a break-through to making an optical system it implies that light can be stored in a type of memory. I hope that this implies light-using logical gates." While this sounds like one more Holy Grail Found! announcement, the work that professors Ozin and John (mentioned in article) have done makes it sound like they're no slouches in the photonics or nanotech departments.

_J_ writes: "The Toronto Star has This Article on their Web site about method to "trap light." Since they call it a break-through to making an optical system it implies that light can be stored in a type of memory. I hope that this implies light-using logical gates." While this sounds like one more Holy Grail Found! announcement, the work that professors Ozin and John (mentioned in article) have done makes it sound like they're no slouches in the photonics or nanotech departments.

Devastator writes "A reporter for the Toronto Star spent five days online. This article gives us a glimpse of how the Internet is still not a replacement for real life human contact. " Interesting story but a little too much information.