Sony Xperia ZL coming to a swath of Canadian carriers in April

Sony Xperia ZL hands-on

It’s not quite a US launch, but it’s close: Sony is bringing the more compact of its two 5-inch smartphones, the Xperia ZL, to Canada in April. While that’s already good news for locals who like their Xperias extra-large, the real perk will be a change in Sony’s tendency toward limited launches in North America. The release will put the ZL on several of the more significant Canadian networks, including heavyweights Bell and Rogers as small-but-significant carriers like Mobilicity, MTS, Videotron and Wind Mobile — the only major exceptions appear to be Telus and the big providers’ budget brands. There’s no word on pricing, although we’re not expecting a radical break from the norm. We’re mostly just left wondering whether the Xperia Z will appear as well, and just which if any of Sony’s 1080p flagships will cross the border to the States.

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Source: Sony

Watch the Canadian Parliament Hilariously Debate the Zombie Apocalypse

That’s it, I’m moving to Canada. They know how to have fun. Even in politics! In Canada’s House of Commons today, there was an incredible ‘debate’ about creating an international zombie strategy “so that a zombie invasion does not turn into a zombie apocalypse.” Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird told everyone that there was nothing to worry about because even though Canada is a friendly bunch, it will “never become a safe haven for zombies EVER.” Oh, Canada. Go Canada! [Macleans Magazine via BuzzFeed] More »

Rogers adopts sane device unlocking policy, $8 pay-per-use US roaming

Rogers adopts sane device unlocking policy, $8 payperuse US roaming

Rogers has had an unlocking policy in place for awhile, but it isn’t what most would call reasonable: an unlock isn’t even an option until the contract is over, which could involve a 3-year wait and obsolete hardware that isn’t worth the effort. Logic is about to prevail, thanks in part to pressure from proposed CRTC guidelines on customer rights. A policy change in March will see Rogers unlock devices as long as they’ve been on the network for at least 90 days, delivering freedom while the equipment is still relevant. Subscribers will just have to swallow the $50 fee, although that’s a relative bargain next to buying outright.

The provider is also making a gesture of goodwill to those who frequently cross into the US through a new roaming add-on launching this spring. Border-hoppers will have the option to pay $8 to get a quick, 50MB hit of data for one day. It’s not quite the revolution the carrier claims when many of us could blow past the limit within minutes — Instagram, anyone? Still, it’s good enough for emergency directions or an email check among those of us who won’t commit to a permanent roaming plan.

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Source: Rogers

BlackBerry: Z10 launches in Canada, UK were the company’s best ever

BlackBerry Z10 launches in Canada, UK were the company's best ever

The launch of the Z10 is a critical moment for BlackBerry, a bellwether for whether it’s truly on the road to recovery. It’s good news, then, that early British and Canadian sales are reportedly far healthier than what the crew in Waterloo has seen in the past. CEO Thorsten Heins says that the Canadian launch on the 5th saw sales 50 percent better than any previous BlackBerry launch in the country, a rather important metric when it’s the company’s homeland. In terms of sheer growth, though, the UK reigns — first-week sales in the nation were nearly three times those of any previous BlackBerry release in the area. These are relative figures when BlackBerry had to spend much of 2012 without new flagship devices, and there’s no definitive numbers, but they’re encouraging for a company that’s had trouble getting traction as of late. Read the full statement after the break.

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PSA: BlackBerry Z10 launches in Canada today

PSA BlackBerry Z10 launches in Canada today

BlackBerry’s home turf of Canada didn’t quite get the honor of carrying the BlackBerry Z10 first — that went to the British — but it’s rectifying that today with a full-scale release. Bell, Rogers and Telus, as well as their respective Virgin Mobile, Fido and Koodo budget labels, are selling the inaugural BlackBerry 10 device now. Those subscribed to one of the Big Three will normally pay about $150 if they sign their lives away on a 3-year contract, or between $550 to $600 outright. Smaller carriers like Mobilicity, Videotron and Wind Mobile haven’t yet launched the Z10 themselves, although they promise sales soon. BlackBerry fans south of the border, meanwhile, will just have to stare longingly until March if they’re not bent on imports.

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Source: Bell, Rogers, Telus

WhatsApp’s data collecting violates Canadian and Dutch privacy laws

DNP WhatsApp's data collection practice violates Canadian and Dutch privacy laws

According to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) and the Dutch data authority College Bescherming Persoonsgegevens (CBP), the popular cross-platform messaging application WhatsApp violates privacy laws. A joint investigation between the two groups revealed that, with the exception of devices running iOS 6, the app requires access to a customer’s address book in order to use the software. This stipulation results in non-user contact information being recorded to WhatsApp servers without permission, which contravenes Canadian and Dutch privacy laws. In September of 2012, the company added encryption to its services as a response to these investigations, but both the OPC and CBP remain concerned about unauthorized data collecting. As it stands, both organizations will continue to monitor WhatsApp’s progress toward compliance, with the Dutch agency reserving its right to impose fines against the firm if necessary.

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WhatsApp’s violation of privacy law partly resolved after investigation by data protection authorities

Canadian and Dutch data privacy guardians release findings from investigation of popular mobile app

Ottawa, Canada and The Hague, The Netherlands, January 28, 2013 -The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) and the Dutch Data Protection Authority (College bescherming persoonsgegevens, (CBP)) today released their findings from a collaborative investigation into the handling of personal information by WhatsApp Inc., a California-based mobile app developer.

The coordinated investigation is a global first, as two national data protection authorities conducted their work together to examine the privacy practices of a company with hundreds of millions of customers worldwide. This marks a milestone in global privacy protection.

“Our Office is very proud to mark an important world-first along with our Dutch counterparts, especially in light of today’s increasingly online, mobile and borderless world,” said Jennifer Stoddart, Privacy Commissioner of Canada. “Our investigation has led to WhatsApp making and committing to make further changes in order to better protect users’ personal information.”

Jacob Kohnstamm, Chairman of the Dutch Data Protection Authority, adds: “But we are not completely satisfied yet. The investigation revealed that users of WhatsApp – apart from iPhone users who have iOS 6 software – do not have a choice to use the app without granting access to their entire address book. The address book contains phone numbers of both users and non-users. This lack of choice contravenes (Dutch and Canadian) privacy law. Both users and non-users should have control over their personal data and users must be able to freely decide what contact details they wish to share with WhatsApp.”

Key findings and outcomes

The investigation focused on WhatsApp’s popular mobile messaging platform, which allows users to send and receive instant messages over the Internet across various mobile platforms. While WhatsApp was found to be in contravention of Canadian and Dutch privacy laws, the organization has taken steps to implement many recommendations to make its product safer from a privacy standpoint. At this time however, outstanding issues remain to be fully addressed.

The investigation revealed that WhatsApp was violating certain internationally accepted privacy principles, mainly in relation to the retention, safeguard, and disclosure of personal data. For example:

In order to facilitate contact between application users, WhatsApp relies on a user’s address book to populate subscribers’ WhatsApp contacts list. Once users consent to the use of their address book, all phone numbers from the mobile device are transmitted to WhatsApp to assist in the identification of other WhatsApp users. Rather than deleting the mobile numbers of non-users, WhatsApp retains those numbers (in a hash form). This practice contravenes Canadian and Dutch privacy law which holds that information may only be retained for so long as it is required for the fulfilment of an identified purpose. Only iPhone users running iOS6 on their devices have the option of adding contacts manually rather than uploading the mobile address numbers of their address books to company servers automatically.
At the time the investigation began, messages sent using WhatsApp’s messenger service were unencrypted, leaving them prone to eavesdropping or interception, especially when sent through unprotected Wi-Fi networks. In September 2012, in partial response to our investigation, WhatsApp introduced encryption to its mobile messaging service.
Over the course of the investigation, it was found that WhatsApp was generating passwords for message exchanges using device information that can be relatively easily exposed. This created the risk that a third party may send and receive messages in the name of users without their knowledge. WhatsApp has since strengthened its authentication process in the latest version of its app, using a more secure randomly generated key instead of generating passwords from MAC (Media Acess Control) or IMEI (International Mobile Station Equipment Identity) numbers (which uniquely identify each device on a network) to generate passwords for device to application message exchanges. Anyone who has downloaded WhatsApp, whether they are active users or not, should update to the latest version to benefit from this security upgrade.
Next steps

The OPC and CBP have worked closely together, but have issued separate reports, respecting each country’s data protection law (Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and the Dutch Data Protection Act (Wet bescherming persoonsgegevens (Wbp)). Following the issuance of their respective reports of findings, the OPC and CBP will pursue outstanding matters independently.

Following investigation, the Dutch Data Protection Act provides for a second phase in which the CBP will examine whether the breaches of law continue and will decide whether it will take further enforcement actions. The Dutch legal framework contains the possibility to enforce the Dutch privacy law by imposing sanctions.

Under Canada’s PIPEDA, the OPC will monitor the company’s progress in meeting commitments made in the course of investigation. In most cases, companies are cooperative in meeting their obligations, and WhatsApp has demonstrated a willingness to fully comply with the OPC’s recommendations. Unlike the CBP, the OPC does not have order making powers.

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Via: Reuters

Source: Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Amazon’s new Kindles now available in Canada, Paperwhite starting at CAD $139

Amazon's new Kindles now available in Canada

Despite being our neighbors to the north, Canadians have had to sit patiently and wait for Amazon’s refreshed line of e-readers to make their way to retail — even the UK’s had access to the E Ink slates. Now, just over five months later, the Paperwhite and latest generation Kindle will finally be available for purchase on Amazon.ca and at select retailers. For CAD $199, customers can choose between the top-of-the-line 3G Paperwhite and the WiFi-only model for $139, or opt for the low-end with the $89 latest gen Kindle. Support for French-language (Bonjour, Quebec!) is also included in the hardware, as well as direct access to the Canadian Kindle store. So, if you’ve been holding out hope that Bezos’ latest e-reading trio would arrive in the Great White North, well, now’s the time to submit your orders.

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Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Now Available on Amazon.ca

Kindle Paperwhite, the most advanced e-reader ever constructed with higher resolution, 62% more pixels, 25% higher-contrast, patented built-in front light, 8 weeks of battery life and an even slimmer and sleeker design-only CAD$139

Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi + 3G-the top-of-the-line Kindle with free 3G wireless-only CAD$199

Latest generation Kindle-small, light and even faster-only CAD$89

Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite also available at over a thousand retail locations, including Staples, The Source and Shoppers Drug Mart

Canada Kindle Store on Amazon.ca offers the largest selection of the most popular books, including the most best sellers from the Globe and Mail and Le Devoir best seller lists, winners of the Giller prize, and over 50,000 French-language titles

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 23, 2013– (NASDAQ:AMZN)-Amazon.ca today announced that the new family of Kindle e-readers is now available to customers in Canada. The all-new top-of-the-line Kindle Paperwhite is the most advanced e-reader ever built with 62% more pixels and 25% increased contrast compared to the previous generation Kindle, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, up to 8 weeks of battery life, a thin and light design, and is available in both Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + 3G models. Never pay for or hunt for a Wi-Fi hotspot with the free 3G wireless Kindle Paperwhite for just CAD$199 or choose Kindle Paperwhite with Wi-Fi for only CAD$139. The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle ever, with new, improved fonts and faster page turns at the low price of CAD$89. Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi + 3G support multiple languages, including French, and are available starting today at www.amazon.ca/kindlepaperwhite.

In addition, Canadian customers can now access the Canada Kindle Store directly from their Kindle. The Kindle Store offers the largest selection of the most popular books, including the most best sellers from the Globe and Mail and Le Devoir best seller lists, winners of the Giller prize, and a broad selection of works from leading Canadian publishers and authors, including Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro and Yann Martel. The Canada Kindle Store has over 1.5 million Kindle books, including over 250,000 exclusive books customers won’t find anywhere else, over 35,000 free books, and over 50,000 French-language titles. Visit www.amazon.ca/kindlebooks for more information. All Kindle books are “Buy Once, Read Everywhere”-customers can read their Kindle books on Kindle devices and on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android and Windows phones and Android tablets using the free Kindle apps.

“We’re excited to make the best-selling and most advanced e-readers in the world available to our Amazon.ca customers for the first time, making it easier and more affordable than ever for Canadian readers to own a Kindle,” said Dave Limp, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “With a Kindle in their hands, Canadian customers can now directly access the Kindle Store with the largest selection of the books people want to read, including the largest selection of best sellers and over 250,000 titles that are exclusive to the Kindle Store.”

“E-readers have found their place in today’s digital lifestyle by providing users with a unique reading experience,” said Mark Shanahan, senior technology merchant at Staples Canada. “Our goal is to help people choose a device that’s right for them by offering a broad selection of popular e-readers like the Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite in one convenient place, making it easy for customers to see, touch, and try the product.”

Kindle Paperwhite-The World’s Most Advanced E-Reader

Most Advanced E-Reader Display, 62% More Pixels, 25% More Contrast

Kindle Paperwhite’s display is the most advanced e-reader display ever constructed. Featuring a 212 ppi display, Kindle Paperwhite has 62% more pixels than the previous generation Kindle, making text in books and periodicals crisp and clear at any size. Images are sharper, richer and show even more detail. Kindle Paperwhite’s screen has 25% higher contrast than the previous generation Kindle- the blacks are blacker, and the whites are whiter.

Innovative Built-In Light

Backlit LCD displays direct light up through the display into the user’s eyes. Kindle Paperwhite’s patented front-lit display guides light underneath an anti-glare layer and down toward the display, away from the reader’s eyes. This means a reader can read for hours with less eye fatigue and strain. The screen brightness is easily adjusted for reading in any light. The Paperwhite display provides an incredible experience in the dark and in direct sunlight.

Breakthrough Battery Life

Kindle Paperwhite’s built-in front light is designed to be used at all times-both in daylight and in a dark room-for the clearest, crispest reading experience. In order to use the light at all times, Kindle Paperwhite requires exceptional power management to maintain the battery life that customers love about Kindle. Amazon’s light guide technology precisely diffuses the light across the screen and only requires four LEDs to light the entire screen (unlike LCD screens which can use up to 50 LEDs). The light guide is so efficient that Kindle Paperwhite has a remarkable 8 weeks of battery life, even with the light on at all times.

Free 3G

Kindle’s free 3G connection means customers never have to hunt for or pay for a Wi-Fi hotspot-they simply download and read books anytime, anywhere. Amazon pays for the 3G connection on Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi + 3G, so customers pay no monthly fees and sign no annual contracts.

Built-In Wi-Fi

Kindle Paperwhite comes with built-in Wi-Fi, letting readers discover new content at home or on the road anywhere you can access Wi-Fi.

Books in 60 Seconds

Find a book and start reading in seconds with our fast, free wireless delivery. No computer required to download content.

New Touch Technology

Kindle Paperwhite’s new capacitive touch technology is uniquely integrated into the Paperwhite display, allowing for a thinner form factor for Kindle Paperwhite and even better touch accuracy.

Slim and Sleek Design

At just over a third of an inch thin and weighing 213 grams, Kindle Paperwhite is thinner than a magazine and weighs less than a typical paperback. The bezel height between the side of the device and the display itself is 77% thinner.

Hand-Tuned Fonts

Every font on Kindle Paperwhite is hand-tuned for maximum readability. The Amazon typography team worked at the pixel level to ensure consistency of stroke thickness and shape profiles across all individual glyphs, aligning each size to the specific grid of the new Paperwhite display. This allows for unprecedented sharpness of fonts. Kindle Paperwhite’s higher resolution display also allows for new elegant typeface options, such as Baskerville and Palatino, which use thin stems that would not render well on a lower resolution display.

“Buy Once, Read Everywhere”

With free reading apps, customers can read their Kindle books on a large number of devices and platforms, including any Kindle as well as on iPhone, iPad, Android devices, Mac, PC, or Windows Phone.

Whispersync

Amazon’s Whispersync technology synchronizes a customer’s last page read, bookmarks and annotations across all of their devices, so they can always pick up where they left off.

Time to Read

Time to Read is a new feature for Kindle Paperwhite that helps readers know the amount of time it will take them to finish a chapter or a book. This feature is smart-it personalizes the time for each customer based on their reading speed and is constantly updated as the reader’s speed and habits change. With Time to Read, it’s never been easier to decide when to start a new chapter or finish the chapter you’re reading.

Explore the “Bones of a Book” with X-Ray

With a single tap, readers can see all passages across a book that mention ideas, fictional characters, historical figures, places or topics that interest them, as well as more detailed descriptions from Wikipedia and Shelfari, Amazon’s community-powered encyclopedia for book lovers. Amazon built X-Ray using its expertise in language processing and machine learning, access to significant storage and computing resources with Amazon S3 and EC2, and a deep library of book and character information.

Features Built Just for Readers

Each Kindle offers a variety of font styles and sizes, so customers can easily customize their reading experience. Kindle Paperwhite also comes with built-in dictionaries for instant lookup of words, Real Page Numbers, support for bookmarks and annotations, and more.

Worry-Free Cloud Storage

Customers’ Kindle books are automatically backed up in the cloud, so they can re-download their books wirelessly for free.

Sharing

Customers can share highlighted sections, notes and meaningful quotes on Facebook and Twitter directly from Kindle without leaving the book.

Parental Controls

Parental Controls allow parents to restrict access to the Kindle Store, Cloud Archive and the Experimental Web Browser so they can give their Kindle to a child worry-free.

Top-Rated, World-Class Customer Service

Whenever customers shop on Amazon, buy a Kindle, or buy Kindle content, they know that they are also getting Amazon’s world-class customer service. Customers have been shopping on Amazon.ca for 11 years, and they continue to do so because of the unparalleled, end-to-end customer experience.

Beautiful Leather Covers with Auto Wake and Sleep

Covers for Kindle Paperwhite feature a premium textured leather exterior and a subtle woven nylon interior to provide the lightest and thinnest form of protection. The integrated magnetic clasp ensures the cover remains securely closed while in a backpack, purse, or briefcase. The cover automatically wakes Kindle Paperwhite upon opening and puts it to sleep when closed, making it easy to dive right back into the book.

Latest Generation Kindle-Small, Light and Now Even Faster-only CAD$89

The smallest, lightest and most affordable Kindle ever is even better, with new improved fonts, 15% faster page turns and a new, unbelievably low price: just CAD$89. In addition, the new Kindle now supports children’s books and comics, and includes new parental controls. Weighing just 170 grams, Kindle is small and light enough to fit easily in a pocket and take everywhere, and still features the same 6-inch electronic ink display that reads like real paper. At just CAD$89, the new Kindle is the perfect entry Kindle for young and adult readers alike.

Kindle Direct Publishing

Independent authors and publishers can make their books available in the Canada Kindle Store using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) at http://kdp.amazon.ca. Canadian independent authors and publishers can utilize the English- or French-language KDP website to make their books available in Canada and more than 175 countries worldwide. They can also price their books and receive payments in Canadian dollars, earn up to 70% royalties on each book sold, all while retaining control of their content and copyrights.

Thousands of authors in Canada are already using KDP to make their books available in Kindle stores around the world, including Montreal resident Matthew Mather, the best-selling KDP author of the Complete Atopia Chronicles.

“My experience self-publishing with KDP has been nothing short of amazing,” said Matthew Mather. “Within weeks of publishing, my book climbed to #1 on the science fiction best sellers list, and now I’ve sold tens of thousands of copies. I’ve just finished my second novel, “CyberStorm,” and look forward to the idea of writing for a living, something I hadn’t imagined possible just six months ago. The best part, though, has been the interaction with readers. I get emails from every corner of the world, contacting me to say how much they liked my work. This is an amazing feeling!”

Pricing & Availability

The Kindle family is available at Amazon.ca and at over 1,000 retail locations across Canada.

Kindle is available for CAD$89 at www.amazon.ca/kindle.

Kindle Paperwhite is available for CAD$139 at www.amazon.ca/kindlepaperwhite.

Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi + 3G is available for CAD$199 at www.amazon.ca/kindlepaperwhite3G.

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Source: Amazon.ca

Wind Mobile to lose CEO, come under Egyptian telco’s wing

Wind Mobile to lose CEO, come under Egyptian telco's wing

We’re only a few days into 2013, but that’s not stopping Canada’s Wind Mobile — the Great White North’s fourth largest carrier — from announcing big changes for the year ahead. The firm just struck a deal with Egypt’s Orascom that’ll see the foreign telco gain control of the company through a stock deal and have Wind’s founder and CEO, Anthony Lacavera, step down from his post. Barring hiccups in regulatory smell tests, the pact is expected to be rubber-stamped by the end of the year. As for Lacavera, he’ll stay onboard as honorary chair and will spearhead a new effort dubbed Globalive Capital to invest in budding technology, telecom and media companies.

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Orascom Telecom to acquire AAL Corporation interest in WIND Mobile Canada. Anthony Lacavera to step down as CEO of WIND Mobile Canada, Plans to Launch Globalive Capital in 2013.

January 18, 2013

Cairo and Toronto, January 18th, 2013: On the heels of a strong growth year, Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. (“Orascom”) and WIND Mobile’s founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Lacavera, jointly announce that they have entered into an agreement to transfer Mr. Lacavera’s shares of WIND Mobile Canada to Orascom.

Mr. Lacavera, who plans to launch a new initiative, Globalive Capital in 2013, will remain WIND Mobile’s Chairman and CEO until closing, and will continue in a non-operational capacity as WIND Mobile Canada’s Honorary Chair. Upon closing, Orascom will own an indirect 99.3% interest in Globalive Wireless Management Corp.

“As an entrepreneur, my vision was to ignite change across the wireless landscape in Canada, bringing more competition, better prices and superior service to Canadians,” said Mr. Lacavera. “And that is exactly what we did. Now that I am confident WIND Mobile Canada is on a course for long-term success, I can focus on launching Globalive Capital to make targeted investments in companies that share my entrepreneurial vision and continue to support innovation through new and emerging entrepreneurs.”

Mr. Lacavera founded WIND Mobile in Canada in 2008. Partnering with Orascom (now majority owned by VimpelCom Ltd.), WIND Mobile acquired spectrum in the 2008 wireless auction and launched what is now Canada’s fourth largest wireless carrier. Since that time, Wind Mobile has launched in Southern Ontario (including Toronto), Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton and now serves 600,000 subscribers.

Under the terms of the signed agreement, upon obtaining certain necessary regulatory approvals, Orascom will indirectly acquire all of AAL Corp.’s interest in Globalive Wireless Management Corp., which operates under the WIND Mobile brand in Canada. AAL Corp. is a holding company that is majority owned by Anthony Lacavera. As part of the consideration to be paid to AAL Corp. (which includes cash consideration and a continuing economic participation in WIND Mobile for AAL Corp.), the Globalive group’s fixed-line assets (including the Globalive name and trademark) will be transferred to AAL Corp.

“Anthony Lacavera has been the face and the voice of WIND Mobile Canada,” said Ahmed Abou Doma, Chief Executive Officer of Orascom. “I wish to pay tribute to his leadership in making WIND Mobile the official alternative to the ‘Big Three’ incumbents in Canada.”

Completion of the transactions is subject to satisfaction of certain conditions, including Canadian regulatory approval of the conversion of Orascom’s non-voting shares into voting shares, which would result in Orascom holding an indirect 65.1% voting and economic interest in Globalive Wireless Management Corp. immediately before completion of the transactions with AAL Corp. Orascom currently holds an indirect 32% voting interest and 65.1% economic interest in Wind Mobile Canada. AAL Corp. currently holds an indirect 66.7% voting interest and 34.3% economic interest.”

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Via: Reuters

Source: Globalive

Office 2013, 365 listed as arriving January 29th at Canadian retailers

Office 2013, 365 listed as arriving January 29th at Canadian retailers

What is it with Canadian stores potentially spoiling launch plans? Fresh from revealing a white PS3 bundle on late notice, Best Buy Canada and its Future Shop sibling are both listing multiple entries for Microsoft’s Office 2013 and Office 365 in downloadable and retail forms. We’ll refrain from comments on pricing given possible cross-border markups, but all of the entries are shown arriving January 29th. Microsoft hasn’t confirmed anything beyond its established first-quarter target, so take the date with the requisite grains of salt; any truth to the schedule, though, will leave just a short wait for productivity mavens.

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Via: Neowin

Source: Best Buy Canada, Future Shop

Audi goes arty, crafts A4 replica slot cars for ‘quattro experience’ installation (video)

Audi goes arty, crafts A4 replica slot cars for 'quattro experience' installation

Audi and art? Those two worlds aren’t ones we’d necessarily lump together. But the luxury car-maker’s done just that, collaborating with Slot Mods USA to create the “quattro experience,” an installation replete with remote controllable A4 replicas and a custom track. Let’s be clear, though, this is no mere hobbyist recreation. As the accompanying mini-documentary shows, the team behind this project not only put great care into constructing the 20ft x 7ft custom track with the right bends, it also faithfully crafted the slot cars so as to mimic the Audi quattro’s all wheel drive mechanic.

So, how’d they do that? Through a combo of 3D printing, a four-wheel drive chassis and, most importantly, a calculated arrangement of traction magnets, the crew was able to get the cars up and running, and even outfitted with in-dash cams. And, in an appropriate modernist twist, there’s an app for all of that — a custom one designed by Audi that runs on the iPad and lets “drivers” steer via a POV feed and onscreen controls. Unfortunately, the whole shebang’s only on display in Toronto for the time being. So, unless you’re planning a trip to the Great White North anytime soon, the mini-doc after the break’s about as close as you’re going to get to the real thing.

Continue reading Audi goes arty, crafts A4 replica slot cars for ‘quattro experience’ installation (video)

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Audi