Author: Doug Groves

dougplanet.com is his personal blog, which is withering on the vine. If you poke around it, you’ll find out that he’s an animator and broadcast designer by trade, usually pushing pixels in either After Effects or Lightwave 3D. If he absolutely had to pick a favourite all time writer, it would be Harlan Ellison more days than any other. If you don’t know who Ellison is, then Doug weeps for you. Doug also likes long walks on the beach, mainly to collect improperly discarded medical waste for an undisclosed project of epic proportions.

Sharp Galapagos tablets to run Android, not called tablets

September 27, 2010September 28, 2010 Doug Groves Android, e-reader, Galapagos, media tablet, Sharp, tablet4 Comments

It looks like Sharp is the latest to enter the tablet game, announcing their new Galapagos 5.5 inch and 10.8 inch tablets e-book readers running Android. Galapagos is also the name of the e-book/newspaper service that will come with the devices, which will delivers over 30,000 newspapers, books and magazines when the service launches in December (Japan only for now). Sharp’s decisions to not mention the Android operating system in it’s press release, as well as marketing these as e-book readers, and not tablets, are both curious to say the…

Wind Mobile launches it’s first high end Android Phone

September 24, 2010September 27, 2010 Doug Groves Android, Android 2.1, Eclair, google, Motorola, unlocked, Wind Mobile, XT7202 Comments

Wind Mobile has finally launched its first ‘high end’ Android based phone, in the form of the Motorola XT720. Priced at $450, with an instant rebate bringing it down to $430 until the end of September, the XT720 runs Android 2.1 on top of a Cortex A8 processor, and sports an 8 Mpixel camera (auto focus and flash), with a 3.7 inch capacitve screen. In many ways, the XT720 is comparable to other high end Motorola Android devices, such as the Milestone, but with a better camera and no physical…

Videotron bring 120Mbps internet to Quebec City

September 24, 2010September 25, 2010 Doug Groves cable, high speed, Internet, Quebec City, Videotron2 Comments

Videotron’s new Ultimate Speed 120 Internet is rolling out in Quebec City today, making it the fastest residential internet access in Canada. At $159.95 (or $149.95 with a TV bundle), it’s not cheap, but for that price you’ll be getting 120Mbps download speeds and 20Mbps upload, which rightly sounds impressive. What’s not so impressive is that your monthly download capacity is limited to 170 GB, which is lower than some $30 DSL plans in the country. When you look at the numbers, that boils down to almost a dollar a…

Fan Expo 2010 – Interview with Anna Silk and Kris Holden-Ried

September 23, 2010October 12, 2010 Doug Groves Anna Silk, canada, Fan Expo, Fan Expo 2010, interview, Kris Holden-Ried, Lost Girl, Show, Showcase, supernatural, TV, video5 Comments

Showcase was on hand at Fan Expo promoting their new TV Series Lost Girl, and we managed to get some time to talk with stars Anna Silk (Bo) and Kris Holden-Ried (Dyson). The show, about a succubus who’s only recently become aware of the larger supernatural fae world of which she’s a part, airs Sundays at 9pm. In this interview, Alex talks with Anna and Kris, who give us an idea of what it’s like working on the supernatural thriller, as well as some insights into their individual characters, and…

Netflix launches Canadian streaming package

September 22, 2010September 24, 2010 Doug Groves event, Mobile, Netflix, Netflix Canada, rental, streamning3 Comments

The long awaited Netflix Canada is now open for business. The service features a wide selection of movies and TV shows, accessible through a variety of devices. Unlike the disc based options available in the US, the Canadian service is unlimited streaming for $7.99 a month, and is available for viewing on a variety of platforms, including the PC, Wii, iPhone/iPad and PS3. Netflix for the Xbox 360, which was the first console to get the service in the US, won’t be available until later this fall. No doubt this…

Microsoft expanding Zune Services internationally

September 21, 2010September 24, 2010 Doug Groves Microsoft, MP3, press release, Windows Phone 7, Xbox, Xbox Live, Zune, Zune Pass7 Comments

With Windows Phone 7 just around the corner, it’s no surprise that Microsoft finally announced their first round of international expansion of the Zune service, providing digital entertainment services to more than 20 countries. Not all countries are created equal however. The much vaunted Zune Pass will be available in the UK, France, Italy and Spain, for 9.99 euros. The Zune pass allows users to have unlimited access to the Zune music library from Windows PCs, Windows Phone 7 and Xbox Live. Unlike the US version, which costs $14.99 US,…

Blurring the line between production and post production: NewTek demonstrates Virtual Cinematography in Lightwave

September 21, 2010September 22, 2010 Doug Groves 3D, Avatar, Lightwave, Lightwave CORE, newtek, post production, production, Rob Powers, virtual camera, virtual cinematography1 Comment

Newtek has long been one of the most innovative digital content creation companies out there. Originally an Amiga based company, with products such as DigiView, the first colour digitizer for a computer, and the Video Toaster which gave users the power of a live switching studio via an add on card , they’ve continued to innovate through the years. This year at SIGGRAPH is no different, as Rob Powers, VP of 3D development took the stage to demonstrate the virtual cinematography capabilities of Lightwave 3D 10, the latest version of…

Sony Move for the PS3 officially launches

September 20, 2010September 21, 2010 Doug Groves motion controller, Move, Playstation, press release, PS3, Sony, Sony Move1 Comment

If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on the PlayStation Move, it’s out now. The wireless motion contoller allows players to move objects accurately through 3D space in games on the PS3, using a combination of accelerometers and the PlayStation Eye to provide 1:1 motion. The official Sept 19th launch date was originally announced back at E3 2010, but John, our man in Montreal, was at his local game store on Friday, where there were a couple of boxes worth just sitting on the floor. Instead of ponying up…

The Arcadian Renaissance at Nuit Blanche

September 18, 2010September 22, 2010 Doug Groves Arcadian Renaissance, Bell Tiff Lightbox, event, Hand Eye Society, indie, Nuit Blanche, PC gaming2 Comments

As we mentioned first back in July, the Hand Eye Society will be presenting the Arcadian Renaissance this October 2nd, as part of Nuit Blanche, which runs from sundown to sunrise. On hand at the Renaissance will be six arcade cabinets fitted with a number of great games from the Toronto indie gaming scene – no quarters required. You can hit the arcade at the Bell TIFF Lightbox.

Fan Expo 2010 – Snakor’s Pizza Interview

September 17, 2010September 20, 2010 Doug Groves Arcana Comics, Comic, Fan Expo, Fan Expo 2010, interview, Kody Peters, Sean Jordan, Show, Snakors Pizza, webcomic, Wordburglar3 Comments

What happens when your bid to take over the world fails, and despite your scaly visage, you’re just not good at being evil? Get into the pizza business, of course. That’s the premise to the comic Snakor’s Pizza, about a wannabe super villain who has to turn to a more practical career choice when his dream dies. Peter talks with writer Sean (SJ) Jordan (aka The Wordburglar) and artist Kody Peters about ideas behind the comic and their influences. While available in print, you can get a taste of it…

Samsung Galaxy Tab coming without voice to Rogers and Bell

September 17, 2010September 24, 2010 Doug Groves 3G, Apple, Bell, data plan, Galaxy Tab, google, iPad, Rogers, Samsung, smartphone, tablet, Touch Wiz, voice, WiFi2 Comments

Since it was first announced, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 7 inch Android based tablet has been getting a lot of positive press, and many who’ve had hands on experience are saying that it could be the first tablet to rival Apple’s iPad. Despite being only about half the size of the iPad, the 7 inch screen’s more 16:9 friendly aspect ratio provides what appears to be a good balance between portability and viewability. In the US, the Galaxy Tab will be launching on all the major carriers with various 3G data…

Fan Expo 2010 – Geoff Lapaire Interview

September 16, 2010September 20, 2010 Doug Groves Fan Expo, Fan Expo 2010, Geoff Lapaire, interview, Kyle, Pure Pwnage, Show, Showcase, TV1 Comment

To round out our Pure Pwnage coverage from Fan Expo 2010, we return to Geoff Lapaire, who earlier gave us a sneak peek at the official Pure Pwnage Android app. Although he doesn’t name the location, the Pure Pwnage TV show has been picked up in another market. Alex talks with him about working on the TV series compared to the web show, and where things stand with the second season of the TV show. On that subject, they have two episodes scripted, and are still waiting to get the…