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Apple iPad Canadian launch, Rogers on-device data plans available, Bell plans available, and Telus is MIA

Though you’re all probably aware, we wouldn’t be doing our jobs here if we didn’t mention something about the roll out of the iPad beyond US borders, including here in Canada.  From the breathless coverage in the mainstream press, it appears that there were close to 200 people ready to get their hands on the iPad on opening day at the Apple store in the Eaton Centre. If there’s a certain lack of excitement to this article, it’s not born so much from cynicism of the whole circus, though there…

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Like Those Shiny iDevices? You May Not Like How They’re Made…

Apple’s least favorite bloggers Gizmodo.com have re-posted a story from the Southern Weekly newspaper who sent undercover reporter Liu Zhi Yi into Foxconn Inc who makes Apple iPods, iPhones, and the like for Apple. The factory has had a rash of suicides in the last little while and the company has hired everything from counselors to Buddhist monks to try and deal this this.  Here’s what the reporter found: During his 28 days of investigation, Liu Zhi Yi was shocked to discover how the factory workers live in a sort…

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HP TouchSmart tm2 review

So after waiting for the reveal of Apple’s once “mythical” tablet to be revealed, only to end up being as disappointed as Japanese Anne of Green Gables fans after traveling half way around the world to see the real deal, I decided I was going to buy a Windows based tablet. The Microsoft Courier looked interesting but a bit out there and the HP Slate looked rocking although a bit underspec’d. I decided to hold out for the Slate.

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Apple taking Canadian iPad pre-orders now, announces Rogers data plans

It’s 3am, and I just checked the Apple.ca store, and the iPad pre-order page is up! Apple has also pre-empted Rogers by posting the details of their iPad Data plans: To start 3G service on your iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G, you will need a micro-SIM card and a data plan. A range of data plans are available and most don’t require a contract. When you order your iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G from the Apple Online Store, you can add a micro-SIM card from the carrier listed below. You…

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Apple announces Canadian iPad date, Bell joins Rogers in confirming ‘support’

Apple finally announced on Friday exactly when the iPad will be available internationally. It will hit Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK on May 28th, and will be up for pre-order on May 10th. Both the Wi-Fi and 3G models will be available on that date, and the Canadian prices are as follows: Suggested retail price of $549 (CAN) for 16GB, $649 (CAN) for 32GB, $749 (CAN) for 64GB for Wi-Fi models and $679 (CAN) for 16GB, $779 (CAN) for 32GB and $879 (CAN) for…

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Next is Now: Rogers branding video

Rogers held their annual shareholders meeting today, and like many of these types of meetings, there’s some slick, well-made corporate video to set the mood.  I’ve been on the editing end of more than one of these, so I know how it works.  The thing is, this one from Rogers, well, kind of works. Using stats projected in urban environments, it communicates the message that the future is here… or “Next is Now” if you will. Some of the stats are somewhat odd though.  I did laugh a bit when…

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Adobe’s Flash: Good, Bad or Just Ugly?

I have a few beefs with Flash… its security sandbox seems more restrictive than helpful. Most Flash vulnerabilities have something to do with null pointer exceptions rather than what programmers write, which one could point at and say “ah HA! Flash is bad!”. But when you think about it, what software doesn’t have security vulnerabilities? I mean, Apple recently dealt with a vulnerability that lets would-be hackers send an SMS that allows them to eaves drop on conversations and make your iPhone part of a botnet. Where was the outrage…

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Apple pushes out Canadian iPad lauch, taking pre-orders May 10. Rogers announces iPad plans

On Wednesday Apple announced that, due to the popularity of the iPad in the US, the planned late April international launch of their latest must have device was going to be delayed until late May. Love it or hate it, the iPad is definitely an important device, that will change how media is consumed, and it will be interesting to see what Canadian content is available at launch next month. Although a Canadian date had not been specifically confirmed all the rumours prior to Wednesday pointed to an April 24th…

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Very Cool: Class 3 Outbreak Flash Zombie RTS!

Built on their first release, the Zombie Outbreak Simulator, Binary Space has release their first game, the Zombie RTS Class 3 Outbreak. The game is a browser based flash game, running over Google maps, where you control 3 squads of police to try to hold back a zombie invasion. Like many flash games the graphics and gameplay are deceptively simple, but the game is highly addictive, and under the hood Class 3 is surpising sophisticated: Game designer, Jay Weston says, “We set the bar pretty high with our previous release,…

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An rgbFilter review: X’s hands-on with the iPad

When I came into the office this morning, the very last thing I expected to see on my desk was a shiny, new, 16gb, Wi-Fi-only iPad. Right about the time I was thinking to myself what I’d done recently to deserve such a gift, the owner came by to pick it up and apologize for cluttering up my work area. Fortunately, I’d had just enough to time to play with it that my reaction was less “Finder’s Keeper’s” and more “meh, whatevs.” In short, after playing with the iPad for…

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Translating Fraser Speirs on iPad

Giving you the likely thinking behind this post by Fraser Speirs, quoted in its entirety [and translated] below… I’ll have more to say on the iPad later but one can’t help being struck by the volume and vehemence of apparently technologically sophisticated people inveighing against the iPad. [Many who normally love everything Apple and defend their products at length have a serious problem with this product. These traitors must be dealt with.] Some are trying to dismiss these ravings by comparing them to certain comments made after the launch of…

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The iPad: Did Apple jump the shark, or is it a tablet for the masses?

Well, iPad day has come and gone, and with it the dreams of many an Apple fan, if our internal emails here at rgbFilter are any indication. In the weeks leading up to the announcement of the new iPad, there was all kinds of rampant speculation. Will it be iPhone OS, or OS X? How big will it be? Will there be a stylus? Will it magically kill both other ebook readers and netbooks in one fell swoop? If you followed the standard commentary, not just in the tech press,…

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