.::REALITYRECALL::.

NDP Leader Jack Layton has committed to capping credit card rates and fees as a way to control the household debt of Canadian families.

Amateur video has captured the nerve-wracking landing in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., of a medical evacuation plane with front wheels that failed to dislodge until after the aircraft touched down.

BlackBerry PlayBook FAQ confirms native email, calendar and contacts apps, just not at launch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The United States Navy has been working on next-gen weaponry ever since the last-gen was present-gen, and if the next next-gen ever actually arrives, well… we don’t stand a chance at lasting very long. According to Wired, the Navy’s Office of Naval Research is expecting laser technology (as it relates to weaponry) to mature in the next score, and if all goes well, a free-electron laser could be mounted on a ship during the 2020s. As of now, FELs produce a 14-kilowatt beam, but that figure needs to hit 100+ in order to seriously defend a ship; unfortunately for those who adore peace, it seems we’re well on our way to having just that. When it’s complete, these outrageous pieces of artillery will be capable of “burning incoming missiles out of the sky [and] zapping through an enemy vessel’s hull.” Something tells us that whole “You Sunk My Battleship” meme is just years from reappearing in grand fashion.

Future Navy lasers will ‘burn incoming missiles,’ blast through ominous vessels originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 12:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Conservative leader Stephen Harper brought his campaign to Saskatchewan Tuesday and said he won’t be satisfied holding 13 out of the province’s 14 ridings.

Acer’s had its fair share of Iconia’s land in the past few months, but none are as breathtaking (and potentially world-changing) as the Iconia-6120. Said machine was priced at €1,499 earlier in the year, but that doesn’t mean an awful lot to folks situated in America and the Great White North. As of today, consumers in both of those nations have a price and release date to ponder, with $1,199.99 (both US and CAD) netting you a touchbook with two 14-inch Gorilla Glass touchpanels, a Core i5 CPU, 4GB of memory, integrated Intel HD graphics and a 64-bit copy of Windows 7 Home Premium. You’ll also get USB 3.0 support, a 640GB hard drive, a 1.3 megapixel camera, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, an HDMI output, gigabit Ethernet, a chassis that weighs in at 5.95 pounds and a battery that’ll probably sputter along for nine or ten minutes (on a good day). Lookin’ to dive right in? Amazon, as well as “other” fine e-tailers, should be taking orders momentarily.

Continue reading Acer slaps $1,200 price tag on dual-screen Iconia-6120 touchbook, lets US and Canada pre-order

Acer slaps $1,200 price tag on dual-screen Iconia-6120 touchbook, lets US and Canada pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switching tracks suddenly in your audio/video projects can be really jarring for the audience. Crossfades can help make natural-sounding transitions between audio tracks, and you can really take advantage of them if you know a little about how sound works.

Angry Birds: Video Cheats for Every Level	How To Use Clipping Masks (And Not Layer Masks) in Photoshop	How to Remotely Control Your PC (Even When it Crashes)

From the dark ages to this day.

Via: WinBeta
Source: TechKing

The second bit of news for Canadian Netflixers in less than 24 hours deals with the other pressing issue facing the service in the Great White North: bandwidth caps. While they exist in the U.S., many Canadian ISPs have set the max amount of data allowed at much lower levels and they may cut further if a recent CRTC decision on usage-based billing stands. In response, starting today Netflix.ca accounts all have a new Manage Video Quality setting that lets users select Good / Better / Best bitrates as defaults for their video streams. According to CPO Neil Hunt’s blog post, previously watching 30 hours of Netflix would typically consume up to 30GB of data, while now it can be as low as 9GB under the “Good” setting. Of course, dropping bitrate means lowering picture quality accordingly, despite promises that “the experience continues to be great.” Even with HD and 5.1 audio available, PQ probably isn’t your highest priority if you’ve turned to streaming, but it remains to be seen if customers find the compromise suitable, and whether a similar option comes to U.S. users facing similarly limited connections.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Netflix Canada announces new bandwidth management settings for capped users originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 23:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Telecom giant Bell Canada has pulled its plan to impose usage-based billing to wholesale internet clients, following a widespread public outcry.

New pools of radioactive water have been detected around Japan’s earthquake-damaged Fukushima nuclear complex, officials said Monday, as workers continued racing to contain leaks from the facility.

Oh spring, come quick! It’s a lifelong dream of mine to be in Holland during tulip season which is now just seconds away. The countryside all swathed in color as far as the eye can see, the air thick with the scent of spring. And then, all of a sudden it’s harvest time and they’re all cut down, packed up and exported worldwide. My Dad tried to go see them once and he was a day too late, he said it was a like floral massacre, bereft of color, the fields barren with random decapitated tulip heads & bulbs left behind. Oops, sadface Daddio. Nice try, better luck next time!

Image credits: 1, 2, 3, 4.

The most intense forms of rejection create a physical response in the brain, research shows.