I’ve been a fan of the “Resident Evil” video game series ever since I played the first incarnation, oh so long ago, on the Nintendo Gamecube.  It’s such an incredibly well made series; games that absolutely terrify me, but somehow coax me into seeing them through to conclusion.  This leash has previously tugged me through renting RE: Zero, 1, 2, 3, owning 4, and watching the three theatrical releases. 

As a Nintendo loyalist, I’ve owned every and only Nintendo consoles (NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, DS, and Wii) I was naturally quite rattled/relieved that I wouldn’t get to play RE: 5; due to its exclusive release on Sony PS3 and XBOX 360.  Though I would not get to dabble in Capcom’s 5^th RE terror walk, us Nintendo folk have been given the chance to try to survive 2 other RE offerings that are exclusive to Wii: RE: “The Umbrella Chronicles” (2007), and “The Darkside Chronicles” (2009).  Recently, my brother and I decided to delve in head first, and we rented them simultaneously.

Both games are “on-rail shooters”, which basically means that the game controls your movement through the game, while you contribute the offence/carnage.  It plays very arcade-like (a game called “Lucky & Wild” comes to mind),  and is stocked with soild graphics and a cool underlying story line that permits you further knowledge of the missing pieces in the ongoing Resident Evil saga. 

Both titles are feature quite simplified controller interaction compared to previous releases on various platforms; of which’s controller button functions have grown to absurd levels in recent years.  Both games are compatible with the Wii zapper to simulate the gun use, offer optional use of the Wii nunchuk to increase the field of view (only on UC) and switch weapons, a “B” trigger to shoot, “A” button to pick up items, and the control pad to toggle between your guns.  Both games make use of the Wii sensor bar; allowing you to swing the Wii-remote to swipe at enemies with your knife.  Co-operative play with another player is another new addition not previously offered, and something I found to be great fun. 

In response to why the gameplay had been made simpler, the games’ producer, Masachika Kawata, observed that “Wii users like easiness” and that the older gameplay style would be difficult for Wii’s larger and broader target audience, rather than for its series’ niche enthusiasts.  He also admittedly lowered the level of difficulty to appeal to the mass Wii users (entire families), rather than the slim teenage/young-adult male demographic that has been playing/buying/funding the whole series and its success thus far.  A good idea for Wii, but definitely a frustration point for hardcore RE fans.

Wii/Capcom’s decision to cater to mass rather than niche is curious, considering that they storylines you uncover in both games could only be understood by those aforementioned harcore fans of the series.  “Umbrella Chronicles” focuses on the ongoings of Albert Wesker, a main antagonist of the series.  Without offering any spoilers, basically as you play through the game, you discover what he had been doing while absent from view in the past games, and gain further insight into his Umbrella Corp. involvement, and continuing meddling with S.T.A.R.S. agents.  You also get to revisit some incidents of RE:0, 1, and 3 with familiar characters Rebecca Chambers, Billy Coen, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Ada Wong,  HUNK, and new addition, Carlos Oliveira; transporting you back to the train, the Mansion, and Raccoon City in certain scenarios.

                                      ************************

“Darkside Chronicles” takes you through RE:2, Code Veronica, and offers some new material.  This game allows you to play as Leon S. Kennedy and Jack Krauser  (mortal enemies in RE:4, so this gives insight into their prior relationship) Claire Redfield (as she searches for her lost brother, Chris), Sherry Birkin, and another appearance from Ada Wong.  As Leon and Krauser interact while on a mission to exterminate a South American drug lord/Umbrella affiliate, Leon recounts his experiences in Raccoon City before RE:4, which allow for the gameplay of the other characters in other scenarios.

Though we completed both games in a week, they were fun to play.  There’s plenty of fresh storyline and throwback  for the veteran Resident Evil player, and easy gameplay for the newbie to jump into and enjoy.  Flesh-hungry zombies still come out of the woodwork in mind-boggling quantities and time, and still have the ability to freak you out.  There’s also plenty of difficulty adjustments and unlockable content to keep you playing for a long time.  Some levels have to be unlocked by accomplishing certain tasks, and the game cannot be completed unless you do.   Though I would suggest renting these games rather than buying them, there’s plenty of fright, fun, and intrigue to keep you tuned in until they are complete; and seed interest in the next Resident Evil release. 

Judgement: Rentals

read more of Dave at Serenity Now… The SDC Blogs http://davecunning.wordpress.com

You know you do it. Everyone does. You log onto Facebook and after checking your newsfeed for info, you wander onto a friend’s profile and see that someone from high school has posted on their wall. You never talked to them, but you click on their name regardless and OMG! They have three kids already! All of a sudden you find yourself immersed in their profile, looking at all of their photos from graduation to now.

Yup, you’re a Facebook creep.

Social media has become such a huge part of our lives and I don’t see it going anywhere soon. But, if you’re going to use it, there are some important things to keep in mind:

Watch who you creep – after breaking up with my ex boyfriend, I blocked and deleted him from Facebook. I don’t want him creeping me, and I don’t want to know what he’s up to either. If you and an ex are not on speaking/friendly terms, then you might want to do the same. And resist the urge to creep them… you might find out something you don’t want to know (seriously, if you know something about him, I don’t want to know!).

Watch who you friend – not everyone on your Facebook list is actually your friend. People get added for various reasons, and sometimes you hardly know them. Once in awhile I like to go through my friends list and delete people who I never was friends with or don’t talk to on a regular basis, or just don’t care what they’re up to. Or if I am sick of their Farmville things showing up in my newsfeed. Remember, it’s called a friends list, not an “everyone I’ve ever met” list.

Watch what you put on Facebook – all of those photos from your nineteenth birthday where you’re falling on the floor and in compromising positions? You might want to delete them. Or at least make them only visible to you. It’s well known that a lot of employers look people up on Facebook before hiring them or even interviewing them. If you’re looking for a professional career, you need to monitor what information about you is out in cyberspace. Whether you like it or not, you’re being judged all of the time. Once you get the job, watch what you post to Facebook or twitter or any other type of social media you use. Even if you hate your job, theres no need to update your status about how your day F$^#ing sucks because you have a horrible job. As the above video shows, it can get you fired from a job for various reasons, and employers have every right to do this if you are badmouthing their organization. You don’t have to fill in your employer information either – people who need to know where you work already know.

Don’t add your mom – inevitably, something will show up on Facebook that your mom will not be proud of. Save yourself the lecture and just don’t add her. The same goes for other family members that you can’t trust to keep their mouths shut. If you don’t want something to get back to your mom, think twice before you post it or before you add someone.

I know it’s hard to do these things sometimes but you have to remember that almost anyone can access this information, even if you have your profile set to private. Before the internet existed, people only had to worry about word-of-mouth gossip. That was bad enough, so why would you want to put all of your own gossip out there for everyone to see?

Think about it.

For those of you who are lucky enough to not have to deal with Web Advisor, I will explain what this vicious and uncaring creature this is. It is Mount Saint Vincent University’s account for financial information, seeing your schedule and where you REGISTER for classes.

If you have any friends, or multiple friends from MSVU on facebook today between 10am to present some of the status updates you may have witnessed are likely as follows:

Cari: HATES the MSVU server

John:

hates webadvisor….

Stephanie: …dear webadvisor: thanks to you i have to go to the registrar to register tomorrow, and will probably not get into my courses. i hate you. -stephani

Madison: has been waiting at the same page on WebAdvisor for a half hour -_-

Kirsty: Still could not register in ANY class after 4 freaking hours!!!!!!!!!!

Suzanne:

im pretty sure the msvu webadvisor is trying to make me throw my computer through the wall…

Catie is thinking that everyone at the Mount should team together to annihilate WebAdvisor.

And mine is full of many updates in including this one:

Jill: so friggen pissed at web advisor. effing sucks. thought i was registered for all my classes, BUT i am registered for TWO of the same classes. and now im going to be effing stuck in the 830 class AGAIN. F you webadvisor. and F you MSVU.

Yes, we are all feeling the same right about now. Not only am I probably going to have to be in an 830 class OR rearrange my ENTIRE schedule, but because of web advisor I had to miss one of my favourite parts of the week.

ZUMBA.

For those of you who don’t have the pleasuring of knowing what Zumba is. I will explain.” Zumba is a fusion of Latin and International music that creates a dynamic, exciting, and effective fitness system,” (Official Zumba website, zumba.com). Even if you can’t dance (like myself) it is so much fun! My instructor, Melissa, says “even if you can’t follow the steps all I care is if you just keep moving and have fun”! It’s really a great time! OH and did I mention…. this was my LAST zumba class!!!!!!!

Person vs WebAdvisor

Now that I’ve gone on that side tangent – back to the battle with the HATED web advisor.

If we head back to earlier today, say around 9:55 am, I was in the cafe at MSVU with a circle of friends, all of us just waiting for the clock to tick on 10 AM. We were all keeners trying to get in specific classes to create the perfect schedule for Fall 2010. And when the clock struck 10, web advisor began to crash. From refreshing your page to the login screen to refreshing your page back to the register screen web advisor was taking a toll on everyone. Even those who ended up getting into their top classes were having trouble with this monster of a system. No one I saw was happy, and those who were happy with web advisor were a scarce sort.

One friend was successful, registering for each of her top classes in under an hour. While others were be re-routed to Fall 2009 classes and somehow this beast was registering her for those classes.

While taking a break from watching my “register” page load to get brunch in the cafe I ran into a friend, Payne. He’s an IT guy here at the Mount and happened to be on break with 2 of the men who were in charge of web advisor. They tried to give me tips but I was already too filled with the venom.  Payne comfortingly tried to tell me that they even set up an extra server to avoid potential problems today, but the monster prevailed. No one could stop it.

Finally I received an email saying Confirmation of Registration. This email said I was successfully registerd for the classes I wanted. BUT it did not list the classes I had been registered for. Being the on-the-safe-side girl I am I called the Registrar’s Office so they could double check I had successfully registered for all my classes. The man I talked to gave me 5 thumbs up, and said I was good to go.

The rest of my day went quite smoothly.

UNTIL

About 6:20 tonight I decided to again be the on-the-safe-side girl I am and triple check to make sure I was registered for all my classes. I do not like 830 classes. And this was the reason I was ready this morning promptly at 10 AM. One of the classes I was trying to get into had an 830 possibility. And I was not taking the chance of getting into that class. I am not a happy person so early in the morning.

I quickly was able to see that I was registered for one of my classes TWICE and was NOT registered for the class that could possibly be at 830. Me = not a happy camper / having a sick-to-my-tummy feeling.

So I had to give in. I registered for that STUPID STUPID 830 AM class.

Dear Web Advisor,

Next year you better watch your back. I don’t – and I won’t – give up easy. I will get you next year. I will get you when you least expect it. When you are thinking about living a long and happy life. I will get you so bad that you will NEVER want to step foot on the Mount website again. I will SHAME you. SHAME is what you will feel. I hope you’re happy, because this happiness you feel… It won’t last long.

From your worst enemy.

Uptown – Drake feat. Bun B & Lil’ Wayne

Hey everyone!  It’s been a while since I’ve posted, and that’s due to a few things.  First of all, my ass has been severely bruised by mid-terms, so I’ve been recovering from that.  Secondly, I’ve been working on some awesome things that’ll (hopefully) make it into the next post.  The first thing is a “fail reel,” which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like.  I’m taping all of my glorious phails from my gaming in between posts.  The second thing, which is considerably more exciting, is the beginning of my very own webcomic created entirely from videogame stills.  Yes, it will have it’s own story, and all that, so I strongly suggest you check it out!

Anyways, segwaying away from that, recently, the Wii has made me smile instead of making me sigh and shake my head.  No More Heroes 2 is out, and naturally, due to my status as a broke-ass university student, I cannot afford to play it.  Regardless, the game has been released to generally positive reviews, averaging out at about a pretty solid 8.7.  Also,  Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All Stars recently to great reviews as well.  On top of that, we still have big third-party games like Red Steel 2 and Trauma Team to look forward to, as well as Japanese imports like Monster Hunter Tri, Sakura Wars and Shiren the Wanderer that all look pretty cool coming over here soon as well.  I feel like the release of the MotionPlus brought about renewed sense of third-party support for the Wii.  Maybe it has something to do with the attachment’s capabilities, but I doubt that because a lot of games that are coming out don’t even use the MotionPlus.  Truth is, I have no idea what caused it, but I do know that I’m going to enjoy it.

Two more games that I can’t play at the moment, Mass Effect 2 and Bioshock 2 have both shipped recently.  They’ve both been released to great reviews, so I suppose that’s an indication that they aren’t too bad of games.  I’ve been stupendously excited for Mass Effect 2 since I heard it reads your saves from the first game and reacts accordingly.  Talk about frakking awesome.

Anyways, hopefully when I get some money, I can tell you what I actually think about these games, rather than just telling you what other people think.  Well, I suppose an advantage of that is that I’m more persistent in finding games like Steven Poulton and Ben Chandler’s Hope.

Hope

In other news, Traveler’s Tales is whipping up a LEGO: Harry Potter Years 1-4, which I think is pretty sick.  I feel like the Harry Potter games are hit-and-miss.  The first two were okay, I really enjoyed the vastness of Hogwarts in Azkaban, four sucks, and I hear the last two are pretty sweet.  I suppose this excites me because I never thought movies were a good form for the Harry Potter series.  I think a TV series would capture the everyday-familiarity of the Harry Potter universe, so I’m hoping by covering 4 years in 1 game, the game will feel more like a day in the life of Harry Potter rather than a sparse collection of his most intense moments.

Anyways, I believe that’s it for now, take care all…

Until next time…

Love Like Rockets – Angels and Airwaves I’ve been a fan of the Sims since a childhood friend told me about it during recess in grade three.  I’ve bought most of their nine-billion expansion packs and more or less respected the way they treated gamers.  But once the internal studios of EA took over the development of the franchise from Maxis with The Sims 3, they compromised customer satisfaction for profits. In my books, that’s something you don’t do….so this is my official complaint about The Sims 3.

SHOW ME THE DREADS!

First of all, the developers failed to include an editor like The Sims 2’s “Body Shop,” which allowed players to create clothing, hair, skin tones, and eye colour.  On top of that, the game launched with a few downloadable packs full with different hairstyles, clothing and whole furniture sets.  I could see if they released it even a month after they launched the game, but at the same time?  That means they were fully capable of putting all of that stuff into the game, but instead they figured they could just sell it to the audience.  Despicable!  And worst of all, they STILL haven’t released a good-looking head of dreadlocks, which to me, is leaving out a crucial hairstyle–the second game came with it at launch! I understand how ridiculous it might be for an 18 year-old guy to be complaining about the lack of a few articles of clothing, furniture sets and dreadlocks in a virtual life simulator, but I stress that it’s a conflict of two distinct sets of principals that is causing the problem.  Think about it: you’re buying a more-than-full-price game already, and then they cut stuff out and then try and sell THAT to you on top of it!  It’s not like The Sims wasn’t a profitable franchise before either; they’re really not the people that need to robbing people–that’s worse that Bethesda selling a decent ending for Fallout 3. Anyways, that’s enough about that game, I think I’m done ranting for now.  In other news, zOMGies, a Flash run-and-gun zombie game has made quite a spectacular splash (the rhyme was completely unintended).  I enjoy it thoroughly, as it provides a unique, but very exasperating sense of desperation as wave after wave is thrown–or better yet, run at you.  The developers also nailed the controls, as you’ll have to squeeze and slip by zombies in order to get good shots off, while maintaining forward momentum at the same time.  You definitely get a little friendly with zombies, which is cool, because that’s something most people try and avoid. That’s some quality advice for anyone planning on fighting zombies anytime soon… That’s all folks…

Once a crimefighter, always a crimefighter...

I’ve been a fan of Batman since I can remember. Growing up on Batman: The Animated Series, the game really pays homage to that rendition of the series; its developer Rocksteady Studios and Eidos Interactive managed to get Kevin Conroy and Luke Skyw -ahem- I mean, Mark Hamill to voice Batman and the Joker respectively. The only game in recent history I can say that came close to delivering an experience like the one in Arkham Asylum would be Batman: Vengeance, which was one of the first Batman games on last gen systems. Anyways, other Batman games have managed to recreate different aspects of what it must feel like to be Batman, but Arkham Asylum is the first one to really put them all in one package. Apart from the amusing detective parts (which are pretty simple as WayneTech can do everything) and the incredible use of the series’ characters and environment, Arkham Asylum’s combat engine is a nearly-perfect fit for the game.

The combat system really only has two main buttons, attack and counter, which at first seems kind of meagre. The thing is, as Batman rarely fights thugs one-on-one, this system really focuses on one-on-many fights. It boils down to pressing the attack button while pushing the analog in the direction of the enemy you want to fight. Batman will close the distance himself, whether it is by rolling, flipping or something equally as badassed, allowing the player to concentrate on other things. The challenge comes from the baddies’ aggressiveness. In other games (such as The Bourne Conspiracy), fighting in groups means that have several one-on-one fights in a row, however in Arkham Asylum, this isn’t the case. Joker’s thugs are not afraid to take cheap shots whenever the opportunity arises, whether it would be from behind, from the side, or while you’re in the middle of punching someone else. This is where the counter button comes in. The player is tasked with pressing the counter button whenever they see an enemy getting ready to strike. Batman then will block and counter that attack. The system seems kind of rudimentary in theory, but when Rocksteady decides to throw 10 thugs at you at once, it works almost flawlessly. There’s also a slight rhythm element to system, if you attack at a certain pace, the attacks become critical hits.

The only thing I can really say that I dislike about this system is something that is shared by most combat systems in existence: the fact that you can die from a single jab. I mean, it would be one thing if you were caught with your back to the wall in a hailstorm of punches, but in both Arkham Asylum and the Bourne Conspiracy you can be at low health, but be fighting for a good 4 minutes afterwards and then someone gets a cheap jab in and you die. Oddly enough Def Jam Vendetta: Fight for NY found a way to circumvent that problem. In that game, you can be beaten to a pulp indefinitely, but until someone gets a good, strong hit on you while you’re in the “red zone,” you’ll continue to keep on truckin’. I’d really like that element to be implemented into more games with melee combat.

Anyways, until next time, folks…

A few days ago, I started playing Io-Interactive’s Freedom Fighters for the second time. It’s one of those games that I remember very fondly. I played it back in 2003 or so on the Gamecube, when the game first came out. It is set in an alternate universe where the good ol’ Reds were the ones that developed the atomic bomb first, and consequently, dropped it on the Nazi’s and ended World War II. Fast forward to 2003, and they’ve more or less attained control of Western Europe and South America, leaving the land of Liberty as pretty much the last Western nation standing. The game starts when the Soviets attack, and drops the player into the role of as Christopher Stone, a plumber-turned Freedom Fighter.

Io-Interactive's Freedom Fighters

Upon replaying the game, my biggest problem with it so far is how quickly other characters just assume you are the saviour of the revolution. At the beginning of the game, you happen to be assigned to take a look at the pipes in the apartment of the leader of an extremist armed anti-communist group. A brutish Soviet officer barges in and demands to know where she is. He then takes your brother (and plumbing partner) hostage and leaves. Then, you make your way outside to find the Soviet invasion of the American mainland to be fully underway.

Apart from a random old man giving arbitrarily you the responsibility of rescuing the leader of the fledgling resistance movement, and then that leader giving you command of some of her best soldiers, the rest of the game is solid, albeit starting to feel its age. I find, especially after playing Brothers in Arms, that the system for commanding your troops is a little rudimentary. However, due to the fact that Freedom Fighters came out first, I feel like I should judge the system used in games like Brothers in Arms as more of a progression of the system in Freedom Fighters, rather than something in direct competition with it.

I was talking with a friend about how odd it is that gamers are starting to be able play the difference between games that will age well and games that will not age well. For instance, although a at the time I played it, Freedom Fighters was a really awesome game, now I can really feel out some of the flaws in its design. Something like Viewtiful Joe, in my opinion, will have less trouble aging, as the mechanics and design of the game are solid enough to allow the player to feel as though they can do everything that they think they need to do in order to be immersed in the game. When playing Brothers in Arms or Call of Duty 2, I find myself wishing I could sprint short distances, but due to a lack of a mechanic, I can’t. Yet, when I play over Half Life, I don’t feel like I need to be able to sprint, just because the game is built in a way that almost doesn’t allow me to consider that. The pacing, and relative speeds of the characters in the game make the player content with the speeds they can move at within the design of the game.

Hmm, I think that’s enough for now.

Until next time…

Christopher White is the founder of the Facebook group Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament. When I first wrote about prorogation last week, the Facebook group had a little more than 130,000 members. As of tonight, the group has more than 200,000 members. More and more people are starting to pay attention and starting to get involved, and consequently, are starting to hold their government accountable. Last week, I had the opportunity to interview Christopher about his Facebook group, and to discuss the effect of social media on the prorogation controversy.

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SOCIAL CAUSES

Within the past couple of years, we have witnessed how social media can be used for social causes at an international level (e.g., Iranian election protests). Now we get a chance to see it in action in our own country. Several classic qualities of groups rallied around social media are present, including self-organizing and self-moderating behaviour, as well as unity under a clear and common cause.

On Saturday, January 23rd, rallies will be taking place all across Canada in opposition to prorogation. Shiloh Davis, founder of another anti-prorogue group, is spearheading the national level coordination for the protests. She started her own group at around the same time that Christopher started his, and the two began communicating and organizing only hours after that. Now there are over 35 communities that are going to participate, and all of them have their own groups and organizations. “It’s very decentralized,” Christopher explained, “The goal was to get people involved in politics.” And the fact that the many groups do not have a central head to dictate how to do things, but instead is self-organized by the initiative of its own members, demonstrates how successful the groups were at engaging people from all across Canada.

What’s also interesting about these Facebook groups, from a social psychological perspective, is their ability to moderate themselves with little or no intervention. Normally, in groups, people tend to shift towards a more extreme attitude or opinion; a phenomenon called ‘group polarization’. But when some members started posting controversial photos of Mr. Harper, the group demonstrated their ability to moderate itself intelligently. Instead of just removing the pictures, Christopher started a group discussion on how people felt about the photos. “People felt that it was painting us as a fringe group. So we decided to just remove the photos section altogether,” Christopher explained, “The group is very democratic and thankfully people go towards that center and that more moderate ground… It’s amazing to see how that happens without any grand design to it.”

Clearly, Canadians know what they want, and are focused enough to pursue it productively. Christopher attributes the success of the group to a very clear sense of direction. “It’s an issue for fundamental democracy,” Christopher said as he explained the group’s success, “I think the key is to find one key issue, and find a way to present it to the majority of people so that they can agree on it. [Then] find some consensus, and work on very small things and build from there.”

THE PEOPLE’S RESPONSE TO PROROGUING PARLIAMENT

Like all groups rallied around a social media tool, their success at self-organization and self-moderation has been guided by a clear sense of direction. In this case, it was a united response to Mr. Harper’s games to gain a majority government. He was hoping that we wouldn’t be paying attention. But he did not expect that a simple Facebook group could have directed and maintained the spotlight on him, long enough for a majority of Canadians to take notice and start asking questions.

Most people’s initial reaction to the prorogation was anger and frustration. “What upsets Canadians is that it betrays Harper’s campaign and platform of accountability,” Christopher explained, “He said quite clearly early on that he would not appoint Senators, and now he finds himself in a position where, arguably, he will need to in order to move his legislation through.”

What frustrates Christopher the most is that this all seems to be an attempt for Harper to gain a majority government. Mr. Harper just can’t seem to accept the fact that he does not actually represent the will of the majority of Canadians. “He’s in a minority government,” Christopher continued, “and when you’re in a minority government, you have to understand that compromise is necessary. You do not actually have the will of the majority of Canadians.”

Christopher believes that Mr. Harper was counting on our apathy. Everything about the announcement to prorogue parliament just seemed like Harper was trying to bury it. “It was my belief that [Harper] was counting on prorogation to avoid embarrassment on issues such as Afghan detainees,” Christopher said, “Then he was banking on the Olympics happening in February to bolster our sense of pride and nationalism, and that would carry over to him. And then in the throne speech in March, he would throw a poison pill that the opposition parties could not vote on. Then he could say, ‘Look at me, the opposition voted against me. We have to call an election now.’ And then hopefully get into that 40% support, and then get a majority government.”

Even now, some are trying to downplay the issue, like Tony Clement, who has been quoted as saying that this was only a concern of the elite and ‘chattering class’. “To dismiss people that disagree with him as elitist, is completely disrespectful, and shows that he’s out of touch of what’s in the hearts and minds of Canadians,” Christopher responded.

But with Facebook groups like Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament, Canadians have been able to make their voices heard and find thousands of other Canadians across the country that also have the same concerns. “I see the Facebook group as an extension of the general sentiments of the majority of Canadians,” Christopher said. Indeed, for many people, it has become a political awakening, as even those who do not regularly follow politics have joined the group just so that they can learn more.

“The goal of this group was to keep the heat on Mr. Harper,” Christopher explained. By getting people to do something as simple as spending two minutes to write to their MP, they could keep the pressure on Mr. Harper, and prevent his popularity from increasing. Indeed, although it’s only been a couple of weeks, more and more Canadians are aware of prorogation, and the Conservative support has dropped 10 points since October. If Mr. Harper were to try to hold an election now, he would not be successful at winning a majority government. “[Harper] will have to be responsible and responsive to what we’re asking.”

“WE ARE ALL STEWARDS OF INFORMATION NOW”

The Facebook groups were like a spotlight that kept the heat on Mr. Harper. And even though many Canadians seriously are concerned about it, their voices would never have been heard if it weren’t for the Facebook group. “There would have been a bit of murmuring. But that would’ve been from editorial lists and pundits,” Christopher admitted. Consequently, the issue would have disappeared as people stopped paying attention to it. But the Facebook group continues to focus our attention on the issue. The success of social media in the endeavour for social causes is its ability to take your voice and amplify it. “It really has democratized media,” Chirstopher agrees, “We’re all stewards of information now, and it’s really exciting to see that.”

[photo credit: Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament]

3D television isn’t the only next step in evolution for TV technology. At the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week, there was also a buzz going on about Web TV. Watching content from the web from your living room television.

Students are busy enough as it is with classes, papers and exams. Most of them don’t have the luxury of setting aside hours a night every week to watch television. And the ones that do find it increasingly difficult to stay caught up with their favourite TV shows. So most of them have resorted to watching their favourite shows on the internet, either by downloading a torrent or streaming the video. But they end up sacrificing the luxury of watching from a large screen television for the sake of convenience.

Enter Boxee

Boxee Beta from boxee on Vimeo.

As the video above demonstrates, Boxee allows you to do more tha just watch streaming video of your favourite shows from the internet. You can also watch viral videos from sites like Digg, view photos from Flickr and Picasa, and listen to music from sites like Pandora (though Canadians will probably need some kind of hack). Moreover, you can also connect with your friends on Facebook and Twitter, and see what they are watching, and recommend stuff to them as well.

There are a couple of limitations to Boxee however: a content issue, and a hardware issue.

First, Boxee is an U.S. product, and thus its default settings only have support for U.S. content. This is a problem because Canadians are barred from viewing internet content from sites like Hulu, ABC, and Netflix due to geographic IP filtering. However, several independent third-party developers are working on apps to provide support for Canadian content, such as GlobalTV, Comedy Network, YTV, Much Music, and the National Film Board of Canada.

Secondly, as of now, the only way to use Boxee is to download it for free, install it onto your computer (compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux), and connect your machine to your television. The problem with that is that you would have to dedicate your computer entirely to playing Boxee on your television. But fortunately, Boxee is coming out with their own hardware, the Boxee Box, which connects directly to your television via HDMI, SPDIF and RCA Audio. It is scheduled to come out sometime between April and June. By that time, developers should have completed support for at least some Canadian content.

DivX TV on deck

Boxee isn’t the only one trying to revolutionize your TV experience. DivX is parterning with LG Electronics to bring DivX TV to the living room. But unlike Boxee, DivX TV will not require any additional hardware. DivX will be installed directly into LG’s existing Blu-Ray players and home theater systems with NetCast Entertainment Access via a firmware update that will be available later this year. The service should also be available on mobile devices, allowing you to remotely stream content from your computer’s media library onto your phone.

The DivX TV content lineup includes more than 70 channels from a variety of genres, including short web videos, as well as premium Hollywood content. Content providers include the Associated Press, CNET, Dailymotion, Picasa, Revision 3, Rhapsody, TED, and Twitter. More content parters are expected to sign on once the service becomes more popular.

TV Widgets and Apps

In a different move to take advantage of this web TV trend, Yahoo! is planning on launching a service that allows people to use “internet widgets” from their television set. With this, people can can communicate with friends via Facebook and Twitter, check the news, weather, sports scores, and stocks, as well as view pictures from Flickr and Picasa. See the video below. Yahoo! formed parternships with Samsung, LG Electronics, Sony and Vizio last year in order to push this service on their HD TVs and Blu-Ray players, and have released Widget Development Kit to engage more content providers.

Similarly, Samsung will also be launching an app store for their HD TVs in July 2010. Actually, it’s reported to be a multi-device app store, meaning you can use the same app on your PC, mobile device, or television. This sets up the potential for synchronizing between devices.

TV of the Future?

The next ten years of TV watching are going to be very different from what we were used to when we were growing up. From 3D television to web TV, these are only the beginning of what our living room liesure time is going to be like in the future. But the question is, are people ready to adapt to all this new technology? I, for one, am looking forward more to web TV than I am to 3D TV, just because the relative quantity of content makes it seem more feasible for the developers and manufacturers, and also more economic for the consumer. But what about you? Are you looking forward to purchasing web connected technology for your television?

[photo credit: DivX.com]

So as we were all warned, there’s no more cell-phone use allowed while driving in Canada, unless you enjoy being fined around $200.  Well, in most of Canada anyways (BC, Saskatchewan and Ontario are in; Alberta, Manitoba, and the Yukon Territory have laws in the works.  Meanwhile, you can still drive, text and gab all you want in Quebec, the Maritimes, and those crazy, crazy, Northwest Territories).  That is of course, unless you’re equipped with one of the government’s latest mandated cash-grabs (accusation and solid proof pending): the Bluetooth hands-free device.

The gist of the law is that anyone who watches the screen of an electronic device (cellphone, GPS, mp3 player, DVD player, video games, or Sean Avery distracting Martin Brodeur, which also required a new law legislation) while driving violates the law; unless it’s installed correctly, and doesn’t obstruct the driver’s view of the road.  To read the more detailed version of the BC Law, click here.

Now, with all that being said, let’s get to the real issue at hand with this law:

IT SHOULD BE ILLEGAL FOR PEOPLE TO WALK AROUND IN PUBLIC TALKING ON HANDS-FREE DEVICES.

Ok, I get it Government of Canada, you want to keep motorists and pedestrians alike, safe.  Great, good plan.  I appreciate your concern for my well-being.  Honestly, I’m one of the better and safer driving talk and texter’s out there; but I’ll conform for the sake of the greater good.  But for crying out loud, if I have to see one more person walking around talking into thin air, using their outside voice while clearly within hearing and visual range of myself and others, waving both their arms around like they just got their mental institute shackles off, I’m going to grab that little “lifesaver” right off their ear, turn it sideways, and show them where they can stick it: back in their car, so they can put it back on when they start driving again (what did you think I was going to suggest?)

I used to work at a local irrigation supply store in Kelowna, and we had this dealer rep from one of the companies we ordered products from that would regularly drop by our store to visit the owner and talk turkey.  Fine by all accounts;  probably good business and PR.  The only problem was, this larger, portly, balding, booming bass voiced man (my friend and co-worker, Jayson Zilkie pointed out a startling Homer Simpson resemblance) would stroll into our store, mid-conversation, with his hands-free device inserted in his ear, and his speech burrowing into the goodwill-towards-men shield of my rage.

From the moment our door-chime went off, this guy was already 5 sentences deep.  He would come in, flail his arms around, flaunt his apparent ability to solve problems on the spot for everyone in the store to hear, walk a few laps around our store, walk out the back door, come back in, repeat the process, and then one time I seem to recall, he actually left and drove off without ever even actually talking to anyone in our store.  This happened A LOT while I was employed there.  The guy was lucky I didn’t see him pulling that routine after our order of sharp garden tools came in and were displayed near the front desk.

So if you’re one of those people who uses a hands-free device outside of your car, out in public, on display for everyone to see and hear, remember this:

YOU’RE BOTHERING EVERYONE.

 Do us all a favour; disconnect the hands-free when you turn off your car and get out, and if you get a call, talk on the phone, like a normal human being.  We may be thwarting road-rage with this law, but we may also be inventing Bluetooth-rage.  When I got my headset (which I won off the radio for being the first caller), I made a vow to keep that thing in the car at all times.  My suggestion to all of you is that you do the same, for all our sakes.  And your own safety.

read more of Dave at Serenity Now… The SDC Blogs http://davecunning.wordpress.com