Finally, cellphone heaven in Canada!

With this week’s launch of the Telus and Bell HSPA wireless network, Canadians can finally enjoy, not just a blazingly fast network, but a great choice of new phones, previously available outside Canada, even North America.

Also known as 3G+, the new network will show a doubling of performance to previous networks, all things being equal. Like faster media downloads, faster mapping programs and for HSPA “stick” models, faster browsing on laptops.

But, some explaining on how the HSPA works, is in order. HSPA phones will only work on the new HSPA network, pretty much covering what the older existing Edge network does.  In Europe, it will work with the growing HSPA network, and revert back to Quad Band Edge when not available.

This means when you go to a Telus or Bell store, you need to decide which network you want to be on. Your deciding factour will likely be based on the model phone. If you like the BlackBerry Storm for example and the yet-to-be officially confirmed Storm 2, you will have to forgo the HSPA network, which for a lot of folks is not a big deal.

But if you want HSPA for the fastest online experience, BlackBerry offers the new Bold 9700 available at  Telus and Bell. They will still appeal to current RIM fans with its improved keyboard layout, smooth touch pad instead of ball, faster processor and more memory.

But more choices of phone models with more operating systems, will make choosing the right phone challenging.

Some HSPA phones are exclusive to either cellco. The new LG New Chocolate from Telus, for example,  is exclusive in North America. This is not a phone for the timid. “This is the phone for the person who want’s to be noticed,” said Hilen Wong, director of director of Product Marketing at TELUS. It’s thin, narrow and long with a stunning 4.12” multitouch  touchscreen that shows full width web pages. The HD video play impresses.

Competition between cellcos now is good for the consumer, especially on the popular iPhone 3Gs which now availabe in from three cellcos.

TELUS and Rogers, offer cheaper (but less data and voice) than Rogers. This competition is opening the doors to cool new and cheap services for consumers. Bell is offering the Video Calling service for just 5$ per month, or included in several plans.  Users get Unlimited Video Calling with no data charges and it doesn’t come out of your voice minutes. Concurrently, Bell’s Facebook app  lets users receive video calls from friends from anywhere in the world. All they need is a Web cam. There is no cost to the friend and there are no long distance charges. Sweet.

Folkd who live in rural areas will be able to have affordable and fast access on their PCS, by tethering their HSPA phones for speedy Internet access.

Here is a brief rundown of the new HSPA phones I previewed with TELUS before launch this week.

HTC Hero – This new version leaps ahead where it left off in its Rogers version. It has seven panels to choose from with lots of smart widgets for more personalizing. Running on Google’s Android, it has everything at your fingertips and lets you take all the great things about Google in your pocket.

BlackBerry Bold  - This is an expensive phone , but it’s the  BlackBerry flagship.  It’s used by most of the RIM brass, with many big and small improvements that will likely be noticed and appreciated by current Bold users. The fret keyboard is slightly curvier and easier for most fingers (mosly thumbs) to hover over while the touch pad is awesome and looks like it will never break down. The screen is crisp and the battery life is longer. This is a fast phone that snaps on your command.   

LG New Chocolate – As mentioned above, this a fashion and geek magnet. Unusually long, thin and narrow, it’s awesome on HD movies, great full width web experience, and even has room for dual frame display when handling your email. Nice.

Nokia E-71 – Similar to Rogers version this smartphone is indeed clever, an example of Nokia’s craftsmanship, engineering and practicality. It features two home pages, one for office and a switchable home version, each accommodating the demands or work and play. It has a crisp screen, a well laid out QWERTY keyboard even fat fingers can use.

Sierra Wireless 306 Mobile Internet Key – You know what this does. Plug into your laptop USB, the built-in software installs and you now have fast Internet. It even accommodates micro-SD cards, currently maxing at 32 GB, for carrying your digital stuff around.  

BELL to come soon, as I get my hands on some of their phones.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's Canadian key note had no "developers, developers, developers", but there was a "Windows, Windows, Windows" Kodak moment. Steve Makris Photo (Sony HX-1 on Anti-Motion Blur)

He didn’t shout “developers, developers, developers” in his keynote but did throw his fists in the air saying “Windows, Windows, Windows” in an exchange during an audience Q&A.

I was invited with a small group of journalists to sit down for a chat with Steve after his Canadian keynote, my first meeting with him. Compared to interviews with Bill Gates, Steve is the opposite. He gets worked up and almost shouts in his public keynotes but is very calm in private interviews, even when I poked him with this question.

Q. Does it bother you when analysts, even some of your co-workers, call Microsoft a version 2.0 company? They get it right the second time around. What are you doing to change that perception?

A. I don’t worry about the perception. I just want the products to be right. If they are not right the first time I won’t hang up my equipment and go home. The goal is to get things right out of the chute. But I think it is important to also say you are willing to continue even if the first incarnation is not right. The first incarnation of many things are not right. SAP didn’t get it right the first time with ERP, Oracle didn’t get it right with databases, Google didn’t get it right the first time with search, didn’t really pop when they started the company in 9-95 …didn’t pop for seven years. Some things do take off from V 1.0 and the first implementation, that’s fine too, but weare trying to make sure we get things right as fast as we can and at the same time that we not be so impatient and immature as to assume that we can’t learn, from getting feedback . So, I am neither sad nor proud of the statement you said. I just think it is important to do great work and also to keep an open mind and listen and be prepared to respond to the feedback you get.”

Having survived that one, unscathed, I asked Steve about his take on Netbooks.

Q. Has the popularity of the Netbooks surprised you? The OEM makers tell me that in order to meet the low cost factour, which is the sweet price nowadays for people due to the economy, Microsoft has to give deep discounts on its operating system for Netbooks compared to notebook and desktop computers. Is that a viable business model or is it just a passing phase right now?  

A.” I think you are going to have a certain percentage of the world say look, I will take the compromise, capability and performance that the Netbook implies in order to get the price.

The thing that I think is a little silly right now is that people think, in some sense, is that to get long battery life and light weight you also have to be underpowered. I think there will be a lot of nice notebooks, that are not underpowered, that have long battery life and have light weight.  

If you ask 10 people what Netbooks mean, you will get a bunch of different answers…to some people  it’s going to mean an atom processor, to some people it’s going to mean cheap, to some people its going to mean light , to some people it’s going to mean small screen, You will get a variety of different answers.

We are going to have a diversity of different solutions…for the lowest cost machine we need to have an operating system that is priced…Windows 7 Starter Edition is that operating system. In fact if a user buys a Windows 7 based Netbook with Windows Starter Edition, all of the full Windows 7 is on the machine, they just have to give us a credit card to activate it.”

Always the salesperson, Steve even gave out his email, steveb@microsoft.com his keynote for folks who want to do business with Microsoft.

Surprisingly Steve has no issue with companies keeping their Vista machines if they are happy with them, instead of having to feel compelled to upgrade to Windows 7. Despite all the negative publicity on Vista, Microsoft feels that Vista was a good product launched in an unprepared eco system. After SP2 the software giant,  rightly so, believes Vista is still a viable solution for many companies.

But the most revealing thing Steve told me was about his long-time Microsoft associate Bill Gates, who as you know, has switched his daily Microsoft work regimen to part time, directing his energy to The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Q. Do you miss Bill?

A. “I don’t miss him as a friend because, we are still friends. I miss him as a co-worker…he is in a couple days a month and he and I were able to launch a board meeting, but it’s not the same, it’s not the same.” 

Interesting.

Industry observers often criticize Microsoft as being run like a family business. Microsoft managers have told me Bill is not missed by all staffers, many of whom prefer the more horizontal style of management. None miss the BillG review, where a project’s success hinged on a one-person career-changing meeting with Bill, who would approve or nix a project. Now, larger groups get involved in project reviews in a more collegial style.

But what may be missed, is the one-two punch combo Bill and Steve ran in the good old days.

And, no one in Microsoft today, can sit down and talk about the entire company like Bill could.

Things change, even for old technology warriors.

Check out my consumer-friendly take in Windows 7 at:

www.edmontonjournal.com/technology/Microsoft+lucky/2140057/story.html

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN BUILD A HOT PC?

Following Intel’s recent launch of its new mainstream i7 and Core i5 processors, the chip giant is hosting a face-off for the world’s top mod enthusiasts in the Intel Core i7 Custom Desktop Challenge. This international throw-down rewards mod masters for creating unique desktops that reflect the power of tomorrow’s technology – from awesome gaming PCs to outstanding platforms for home automation. The deadline to enter is November 16, 2009, so stock up on energy drinks and put your competitors to shame. Get more details at www.intelcorechallenge.com. Since the new kick-ass affordable processors won’t be showing up in Canadian stores for at least a few more months, computer enthusiasts have a chance to show the likes of HP, Dell and Lenovo, not to mention, all those mom-and-pop computer outlets, how it’s done. Geeks of the world…start your chipsets!

Here are ten daily Telus Storm World mobile photo uploads while in Italy last week. I did publish daily in Facebook but  for tech reasons was not able to, here in my blog. Here they are.

Intel’s launch of mainstream high-performance chips for consumers is good news.

The Intel “Lynnfield “  Core i7 and i5 launch along with the Intel P55 chipset for newer motherboards, will bring computing speed up a notch or two, with a wide price choice of computer configerations for consumers.

But don’t expect these new “i” Intel PCs to be in consumer stores before the holiday season, unless you are an ethusiast and want to build your own.

Last year, Intel had introduced the highest end of this chip family with an awesome 8-core i7 3.2 GHz, itself costing more than today’s average selling desktop computer.  

I have been using both these new chips for the past several weeks with Intel’s high performance SSD (solid state drive) 80 GB drive and three gigabytes of DDR3 RAM and an NVIDIA GFORCE GTX 8800 on Windows Vista and the upcoming Windows 7, with a clean install. But I also ran these chips on my working Vista spinning harddrive with tones of legacy programs, to see how the new chips run a PC with “baggage.”

For one, from a cost perspective, expect these PCs to cost more than today’s, with more  expensive DDR3 memory, about 50 per cent more than DDR2 RAM and new motherboards.

There are 774 million transistors in these chips, and unlike current  CPUs, use the new for the LGA1156 socket…in other words, they will not fit on your older PC configuration.  In fact, these new Intel Desktop Board DP55KG I used does not accommodate any IDE connections anymore. Say goodbye to floppies and say hello to SATA compatible internal DVD/RW readers.

Here is a brief listing of what these chips offer:

Intel® Core™ i7-800 processor series

• Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology delivers 8-threaded performance on 4 cores
• Intel® Turbo Boost Technology
• 8M Intel® Smart Cache
• Integrated Memory Controller with support for 2 channels of DDR3 1333 memory
• PCI Express* 2.0 discrete graphics flexibility for multiple graphics card configurations

Intel® Core™ i5-700 processor series

• Intel® Turbo Boost Technology
• 8M Intel® Smart Cache
• Integrated Memory Controller with support for 2 channels of DDR3 1333 memory
• PCI Express* 2.0 discrete graphics flexibility for multiple graphics card configurations

Intel® P55 Express Chipset

• Support for 6 SATA ports at 1.5 Gbps and 3Gbps with Intel® Matrix Storage Manager providing RAID 0/1/5/10
• Intel® HD Audio, 8 PCI Express* 2.0 (2.5 Gbps) x1 ports and 14 USB 2.0 ports with 2 independent EHCI controllers

Here is the three chip size, speeds and internal memory.

How do they perform?

Compared to a Intel Core2 Quad Processor Q9650 (12M Cache, 3.00 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB) I have been using, the i5-750 2.66 holds its own at par, but with a higher PCMark Vantage Overall Score 5957 compared to the 4810  of my legacy system, while the i7-870 was an impressive  6226.

In all, the i5 is in fact a better CPU than last year’s king if the hill while the i7-870 2.9 GHz, is ahead of the pack, with a very stable Max Turbo Frequency of 3.6 GHz.

As for my older well used Vista install? Well, I can say with no hesitation that it ran noticeably faster.

Moore’s Law continues.

I am away for a month in Europe, but will be reporting in more detail from computer makers upon my return as well as what new features the motherboard makers will have on their P55 ship sets.

For more information go to www.intel.com

Since my last two TV stories, I have received emails asking me about what the new LED TVs are about. Even TV stores I frequently visit, are getting questions from consumers asking to see the LED models.

So listen up folks. LED HDTVs are still LCD TVs but instead of the traditional panel lighting source, they use LED light instead. It’s brighter, offers wider contrast, energy efficient and displays pure whites. Most LED  LCD TVs use backlight LED, where the LED lamps are evenly spaced out behind the glass panel. But with some smart engineering, like Samsung’s new one-inch-thick UN46B7000 46-inch LED LCD TVs, you get the best of both worlds…anLCD on steroids that is a third the thickness of competitors and looks just as evenly lighted as backlight LCD LED sets.  To read my latest story on what is new in TVs in stores now, go to:

http://www2.canada.com/edmontonjournal/columnists/story.html?id=190b3a76-9441-4db5-9574-271af663fa96

NEW DIGITAL CAMERA HAS THE BEST FROM POINT&SHOOT AND DSLR MODELS

Panasonic's 12.1 megapixel Micro four thirds cameras has all the bells and whistles while the Olympus E-P1 can actually fit in your pocket.

It’s not often a camera maker flies you to New York to show off its newest digital camera and let’s you play tourist with it all day long…with a handful of company technicians in tow. This included a sea harbor tour of New York, the Statue of Liberty, the colourful Conny Island beach boardwalk, an impromptu picture-perfect pass under the Brooklyn bridge  and a spectacular evening penthouse view of the New York skyline from the lower east side.

So what was all the fuss about last week in the Big Apple? Olympus announced its much awaited E-P1, 12.3 megapixel, interchangeable lens system digital camera. The classic looking aluminum/stainless steel body draws attention anywhere I have been taking it since, especially camera stores. It even has similarities with the original PEN film camera Olympus launched 50 years ago…imagine, that’s half a century!

But it’s what’s inside that’s special about the E-P1 (body $849.99, with ED 14-42mm f3.5/5.6 Zuiko Digital Zoom lens, $899.99) as well as two cameras released earlier by Panasonic, the Lumix G1 and  GH1.

It’s the new Micro Four Thirds system, adopted by Olympus  and Panasonic with a few new potential partners like Kodak, that uses the same size full four thirds sensor in Panasonic and Olympus DSLR cameras.

The prism and mirror are gone, the lens mount is smaller and the sensor is closer to the lens, allowing for better lens design (less retro-focus). This also allows for smaller camera and lens design but the new micro cameras also accept the full Four Thirds lens family from the consortium camera and lens makers, with an optional lens converter.

Call it a hybrid digital if you will…the size of enthusiast point & shoot cameras, the quality of DSLRs and interchangeable lenses and new features.

I have been testing the Olympus E-P1 since last Tuesday and I can tell you, without a doubt, its picture quality is equal, if not better to that of Olympus’ newest DSLR, the 12.3 megapixel E-620, in fact, showing even less noise at higher ISO settings.

Did I tell you it also shoots HD video? It shoots 720p (AVI format) with stereo sound recorded in audio CD quality. You can also record (or re-record) 30 seconds of audio on any still frame you shoot. All very handy for in camera slide shows.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

-Picture quality is the tell-all of how good a camera really is. Does the E-P1 12.3 megapixel on a larger chip translate to a better looking image than that of the 12.1 megapixel GH1? Yes. On the lower ISO settings the cameras are close, with the E-P1 showing richer colours, to some a personal preference. But as the ISO is notched up from 800 to 3200, the Olympus retained colours longer and less grain, yielding very usable pictures in dim lighting. But at 6400 ISO, the only camera to go that high, the E-P1 yielded noticeably grainer images and flatter colour. Still, the E-P1 is Olympus’ best image quality four thirds chip camera, beating out all company DSLR models. It also shoots twice the sequential pictures faster than the GH1.

-The E-P1 does not have an optical viewfinder, or a small secondary LCD eyepiece, like the Panasonic models have. But its 3-inch brilliant LCD can be seen clearly from angled overhead or ground-up photography, even in sunlight. The Panasonic Micros have a full swivel LCD, finer detail screen, but that also adds weight and bulk. The EP-1 screen has smoother motion having an adequate 230,000 dots compared to the noticeably finer detailed 460,000 dots of the Panasonic models. Still, the GH1 impresses with a print-like quality LCD screen which is also clear, even in dark rooms, unlike the E-P1 which gets grainy, but at the end, produces the best quality photos.

-The most important part, for me, is the camera’s response, commonly referred as shutter lag. Having been a professional photographer for more than 40 years, I know a few things about capturing the exact moment in photography. I compared the E-P1, GH1 and Olympus’ newest E-620 DSLR shooting a digital timer dozens of times (manual and auto focus). The Olympus E-P1 averaged .28 seconds lag, compared to the .30 seconds of the E-620 and the .36 seconds of the GH1. The E-P1 also can shoot more than twice the number of sequential frames.

-The video quality of the E-P1 maxing at 720p was similar to the GH1, both exhibiting slight image stuttering on fast moving scenes, typical or still cameras wanna-be camcorders. The GH1 also shoots an impressive 1080p, but with less panning smoothness, in AVCHD format. A plus, it also can shoot MPEG4 video. The E-P1 HD video is a feast for the ears with best-sounding stereo Linear PCM audio recording.

-Both cameras have excellent dust reduction systems.

-The extras on the E-P1 rock when it comes to applying live view art filters on still photos and videos, although the Pop Art and Vignette effects affect the video smoothness. Then there’s the multiple exposure feature which you can do live, while shooting, or after, picking from already taken frames.

-On image stabilization, the GH1 can take steadier pictures at slower shutter speeds. Oddly, the E-P1 does not have built-in flash, when it needs it more than competitors. But a small, metal finish external TTL capable flash is available for $100, after rebate.

-Both Micro cameras share a slew of similar features, including a 300-325 frames with some flash, on one battery charge. Both cameras have extensive menu options, but the E-P1 all in one info display, a carry-over from the DSLR line, rocks, allowing you to make 20 quick settings changes of one screen, and the new thumb operated vertical roller bar speeds up your menu navigation.

WHICH TO BUY?

The GH1 retails for more than twice the price of the E-P1, at $1,899.99 but you get more things to tinker with on-camera and an unquestionably impressive 10X  14-42 mm optical zoom lens. The G1 12.1 megapixel sibling goes for $799.99 with similar features, a 14-45 mm zoom lens but no video. If video is important to you, the GH1 has more options and its quiet lens does not make distractive audio sounds when zooming. The E-P1 zoom during video is so noisy, you have to turn the auto focus off. The GH1 comes with lens hood and runs directly off a power outlet if your battery is dead. Both cameras have mini HDMI output for flat panel TVs, but the GH1 can be controlled with your newer TV’s remote control.

But if you want small, cool style looks and best still picture performance, go with the Olympus E-P1, out the first half of July.

BUT YOU WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR BELL’S NEWEST PHONE

Toronto media got a short-notice invite Wednesday morning for a same-day sneak-peak of the new Palm Pre smartphone, available at Bell in the second half of this year. Reporters could not take pictures but they could see the phone.

A touch of drama for a phone that won’t be in Canada for months and that we all knew about at CTIA Las Vegas earlier this year.

You will have time to think about your next cellphone upgrade, Bell hopes. Should you wait? Before I get into some details about the Pre phone, here is the skinny:

Unless you don’t like everything that the hottest last-quarter top-selling PDA does, the BlackBerry Curve (yes, it outsold the iPhone in the U.S.) or the cool design functionality of the Samsung Omnia or you crave for the seamless multimedia, 35,000 (and counting) cool apps and best Internet experience of the iPhone, don’t bother waiting.

But if you want to manage your wireless life in different ways, Palm’s way, read on.

The Palm Pre is unique in many ways. You can read and see all the details on www.palm.com but briefly, it is a smart-looking PDA with curved sides, even front panel, designed with its own new WebOS platform, does deep multi-tasking and unobtrusive notifying, turns the large screen backlight off when outside for longer battery life and has a large touch screen but no touch keyboard opting for a real slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It’s loaded with 8 GB internal memory, all the goodies like 3 megapixel camera, Wifi, Bluetooth and GPS. Much thought seems to have gone into the Palm Pre from a diversified Palm engineering and design team.

As an option, it has an inductive power charger (a bit slower than a wall plug kind). You can set up HTML or pop email accounts. Palm does not have its own server, like RIM, so unless you get the Pre connected through work with email servers to do the pushing, consumer email accounts will not respond as fast as a BlackBerry phone.  

 Still, there are smart connections with social networking sites on the go, like Facebook, with automatic updates of other Facebook users on your Palm Pre device, when they change their contact information. You can organize and have faster access to both your business and personal contacts. Cool.

“The Palm Pre allows you to keep many applications and Internet sections open at once and move them around the screen with the touch of a finger, even moving them aside so the content isn’t lost,” said Bell Canada spokesperson Julie Smithers.

Palm is pushing the phone’s new WebOS platform claiming it is ready for prime-time application web development with new apps (no business model announced yet) that will be easier to develop than  competitors and the ability to run older Palm software in emulation, in native speed.

Where does the Palm Pre fit for you? It is a new offering, a fresh start from Palm who has managed to outlive its critics. Will it manage to carve itself a niche for customers who don’t care for BlackBerry, iPhone or Windows Mobility phones?

Matt Crowley Palm Product Line Manager in California, was straight forward:

“We are not competing with the multimedia aspect of the iPhone or the full business focus of the BlackBerry. It’s a consumer experience that is not a corporate environment and not 100 per cent competing in the multimedia crazy space of iTunes.”

At first glance from a distance,  I think the Palm Pre is a cool-looking PDA, smart in organizing your information, with a bit of iPhone and BlackBerry envy.

Bell is obviously excited about this phone. “We normally don’t pre-announce a device but we only do so when it’s unique,” said Smithers, adding Bell is the second carrier in the world to announce the Palm Pre offering, one more notch to its already largest Palm line-up in Canada.

 So with that, I will have to wait for a first-person experience for this “I’m no iPhone or BlackBerry” device for a final opinion.

NEW BROWSER WARS

Microsoft’s much awaited official release of Internet Explorer 8 last week starts a new chapter on browser wars with much at stake.

Browsers have become the conduit for a fundamental shift to online offerings with unlimited business potential. They are also staging the set in next generation cloud computing where your browser will be like your OS, with everything running online, not your computer, whose final function is slated to be simply a local storage, screen and input device.

Microsoft still holds the lead in market share of browsers, but competitors Silverfox, Apple and Google and niche Opera are catching up. IE’s lead is not because it’s the best browser…far from it. Experienced computer users and purists, including, to be fair, Microsoft bashers, give high marks to browser competitors for cool, cutting edge features and “technical” speed.

In 2004, Internet Explorer had 90 per cent market share and now it is down to 70 per cent, so it needs to convince users its new IE 8 is up to snuff, which frankly is in many ways.

And despite Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 openness in letting you, for example, choose competitors search engines, even keeping your old ones after upgrading, new computer users end up using Microsoft Live services by default, if that is the first option offered.

Not to say IE 8 is not raising eyebrows. The one thing Microsoft is good at, when it has all its ducks in order, is to get it right the second or third time.

IE 8 has a few cool new features that will benefit web sites and end users:

-Web Slices are special “live” web-based shortcuts you easily create, assuming web sites have taken advantage of this feature. You are alerted when the content of these web sites changes, without you having to revisit the site. For example, if you are on the understandably very popular www.workoplis.com site, you can save your job search profile (such as kind of work, city, dates) as a Web Slice in your Favourites bar.  The shortcut notifies you whenever Workopolis has updates in your search profile. This means you don’t have to go back on that site to see if there are new results on your profile. You can set how frequently you want the Web Slice shortcut to refresh. The IE8 online help guide is-well designed including videos showing you how to use the new features. For more information go to: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx

“IE 8 answers the need to make technology that works for everyone,” said Roy Bernhard, Workopolis managing director, information systems. “These web tools are easy for developers to develop and end-users to use.”

Bernhard added there were more than 3,000 IT jobs available in Canada last week, so using tools like Web Slice can give job-seekers an edge in this competitive job market.

For more information go to: www.workopolis.com

-Accelerators are a real time-saver that allows you to do much more within the web page you are on, by simply clicking your mouse over words that have been linked for Accelerators.  As in Web Slices, the web site must have taken advantage of Accelerators, arming key words with these new hidden features. For example, if you highlight text with accelerator features, a special icon shows. CLicking it shows a drop-down list of things you can do, such as mapping, find the itemized word on eBay, map with Live Maps or even translate with Windows Live. Web sites can set their own Accelerator features on any selected text. You can also add additional Accelerators features of your own.

These web technologies and more, were shown to media in Toronto last week on the eve of Mix09, a convention in Las Vegas showing all of Microsoft’s Software Plus Services.

SilverLight, Microsoft’s web media player, now in its third generation, was shown in action on web-based TV. CTV, the first Canadian network to show streaming HD video online impressed me with SilverLight technology playing full-screen streaming video on a 50-inch flat panel that was indistinguishable from traditional cable or satellite feeds.

For now the network is only playing “catch-up” video showing some of its local recent entertainment content like Corner Gas, for free. CTV uses its own online player to play the HD video, automatically changing the quality depending on the users Internet connection speed.

No announced online monetization plans, according to CTV’s Stephen Argent. “We are learning along the way. This is breathtaking technology and fits the ‘user experience is our business model’”, he added.

We are still away from switching from Telus, Shaw or Rogers for delivery of TV content directly to our PCs, but for folks who live off their computer screen, this is the way to go.  For more information go to: www.ctv.ca

Some cool gadgets from the recent PMA photo show in Las Vegas that caught my attention:

The HoodLoupe 3.0 works on any camera screen up to 3-inches

The HoodLoupe 3.0 from www.hoodmanusa.com has multi-element optics and fits over any camera screen up to 3-inches in diameter. It’s great for viewing the LCD screen on your camera before or after you have taken a photo, especially on bright sunny days. It magnifies the image for closer inspection and is available online for $79.99 US  You can also get a special Cinema Strap for 19.99 US for attaching it to your camera. It’s rugged and its diopter covers a wide range of viewers who don’t want to use glasses when viewing their screens. A great idea and even better investment for any camera you own.

The Universal Adapter bracket with Fisheye and Macro lens from Jackar Optical fits on most consumer digitals

The Jackar Optical Universal Adapter and Fisheye Lens and Macro lens is expected to be available in North America soon. It will sell for about $80 US and consists of a quality-made adjustable bracket, a long-threaded mount to accommodate most point and shoot digital cameras with either flush lenses or ones that extend out. The lens is coated and gives you a 180 degree fisheye effect for some dramatic pictures and videos. The sharpness falls off on the edges but about have the center image is still reasonably sharp. Keep on checking the company site for North America at www.hkdcplus.com I am sure there will be a distributor from the PMA show willing to carry this innovative product. These folks carry a huge selection of lens converters for DSLRs as well as small device underwater bags and other accessories shown last year at PMA.