The traditional definition of family is changing in Canada, with 4 in 10 first marriages ending in divorce, according to a new study.
Make Your PC Shut Down at Night (But Only When You’re Not Using It)

If you normally like to power off your PC when you’re not using it, do you ever forget and leave it on? Here’s how to configure Windows to automatically power down at night, but only if you’re not using the PC at the time.
To accomplish this, we’ll setup a Task Scheduler job that tells the computer to shut down, and make sure to configure the rules so that it doesn’t kick in if you are up late using the PC.
Create a Task Scheduler Job to Shut Down the PC
You’ll need to open up Task Scheduler to create the new job, so open it up and click the Create Task link on the right-hand side.

Now you’ll want to give the task a name, and make sure to check the box for “Run with highest privileges”, since the shutdown utility requires admin access.

Now switch to the Triggers tab, click New, and then setup a schedule that makes sense for you, like every night at midnight.

Now flip over to the Actions tab, click New, and then enter shutdown into the Program box, and /S into the parameters box. If you want to force a shutdown and kill every app, you can use /S /F to force it to happen right away.

Next head to the Conditions tab, and make sure to check the box to only start the task if the computer is idle for more than x minutes. You can also choose to stop the task if the PC isn’t idle to help make sure it doesn’t kick in if you are on the PC.

Lastly, head to the Settings tab, and you can choose to restart the task every 30 minutes if the task fails—that way, if you are on the PC for a while past the normal time, the job will start up later on and shut down the PC.

Once you’re done, your PC will shut down automatically. Enjoy!
Want to make your PC do something other than shut down? Read our article on creating shortcuts to restart, shut down, hibernate, or sleep mode.
Microsoft LightSpace brings Surface (plus shadows) to any table (video)
It’s hard not to love the crazy stuff happening at Microsoft Research, but it’s also hard to imagine when any of it is going to actually start changing the way we interact with our PCs. Surface was bested by SecondLight as the coolest tech we can’t buy, and now here comes another successor: LightSpace. This gets rid of the expensive table in favor of a (surely not cheap) series of projectors hanging from the ceiling paired to a 3D camera. The camera detects the relative position of things and instructs a projector to apply a Surface-like interface onto any flat surface. From there a user can literally grab any file they like and carry it over to another surface, where it will be displayed. It’s all demonstrated quite handily in the video below, and while the system does look a wee bit rough at the moment, the potential is surely there. Just like it was with SecondLight, and Surface, and Courier…
Continue reading Microsoft LightSpace brings Surface (plus shadows) to any table (video)
Microsoft LightSpace brings Surface (plus shadows) to any table (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 13:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Google TV Looks Like the Real Deal in Bridging the Web-TV Divide [Video]
If it works as smooth as it looks in this preview video, Google TV could provide the kind of seamless web-on-TV experience many have been looking for: Dedicated apps, a Chrome web browser, easy picture and music viewing, and more. More »
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Emma Stone Offered The Role Of Spider-Man’s Mary Jane Watson
How to Crack Your Windows Password: The Video Guide
We’ve already shown you how to crack your forgotten Windows password with the Ophcrack live CD, but for those that want to really understand the process, we’ve put together a video guide that will help you visually see how it all works.
In the above video we are able to boot into the live CD, crack our password, and log into Windows in under eight minutes. If you want a more in depth overview on how Ophcrack works make sure you check out the original article here:
How to Crack Your Forgotten Windows Password
Flames go unbeaten in pre-season
Calgary Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff made 27 saves in a 1-0 shutout win over the Edmonton Oilers, the final exhibition encounter for both clubs.
UEFI on track to replace PC BIOS by 2011
The relatively slow PC boot-up sequence is expected to receive a welcome boost with the mass adoption of a new spec known as UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) in 2011.
The Future of Cargo Transport Is a Slow UFO [Blimps]
The future of heavy cargo transportation looked positively eco-friendly and blimp-like earlier this summer, so it’s really no surprise that Australia’s Skylifter cargo blimp is making the Internet rounds this weekend. More »
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Quebec City NHL rally draws thousands
Thousands of people are in Quebec City to participate in what’s being called the “Blue March,” demanding the return of NHL hockey.
Microsoft: 'No Need' For Kinect Processor, Removal Not Cost-Related
Kinect spokesman Kudo Tsunoda claims that Microsoft removed a standalone processor from Kinect because there was “no need” for its inclusion, not to reduce the cost of the device.
Google Instant in Chrome Is Awesome, Even More Useful than on Google.com [Video]
If you’re keen on the as-you-type search results you get from Google Instant, you’ll really like Instant integrated with Chrome’s omnibox. Just launch your dev/canary release, type about:labs, enable Instant, restart Chrome, and prepare for some interesting browsing. More »
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Facebook Users Can Now Upload High-Res Photos, Bulk Tag Friends
Facebook users everywhere will soon be able to upload photos in higher resolution, tag their friends with greater efficiency and browse through their friends’ albums with more grace, thanks to a new set of features that will begin rolling out this month.
The social networking site’s new photo features will allow users to upload photos in a 2048-pixel resolution, instead of the traditional 720-pixel resolution. “It’s enough pixels to print out a 5×7 print at 300 DPI,” says Facebook Photos product manager Sam Odio. In addition, Facebook members will no longer have to load a separate Web page to view each photo in a friend’s album, thanks to a streamlined viewing function that automatically displays images, comments and tags directly on top of an already opened page. “It’s essentially going to happen very quickly, right when you click on the thumbnail,” Odio says. “If you click on a photo and an album from a news feed, you can still page through the entire album.”
Continue reading Facebook Users Can Now Upload High-Res Photos, Bulk Tag Friends
Facebook Users Can Now Upload High-Res Photos, Bulk Tag Friends originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Google Wants to Kill JPEGs With New WebP Format [Google]
These pictures look the same—but they're not. Because the sign on the right, hypothetically, takes up nearly 40% less space. That's the version in WebP, Google's plan to speed up the internet by slimming down its images. More »
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H1N1 shots skipped by 60% of Canadians
About four in 10 Canadians rolled up their sleeves for the H1N1 shot last flu season, Statistics Canada says.
Windows Live Essentials 2011 Leaves Beta, Available for Download Now [Downloads]
Windows: Microsoft today released Windows Live Essentials 2011, a free suite of solid desktop applications ranging from Messenger and Photo Gallery to Movie Maker and Mail. More »
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UFOs in Montreal? Strange sights reported
A mysterious object in the sky over Montreal this week is getting a lot of attention, including from a respected Montreal doctor who believes he saw something “out of this world.”
ADHD Linked to Missing Genes
ADHD is likely caused by a number of genetic changes brought on by missing segments of genes, say scientists.
Google Celebrates ‘Flintstones’ 50th Anniversary With Yet Another Doodle

Today, in case you didn’t know, marks the 50th anniversary of ‘The Flinstones’ franchise. Whereas most of us will probably celebrate the occasion by running around barefoot and breaking things with wooden clubs, Google decided to mark the occasion the only way it knows how — with a commemorative doodle on its homepage. Each time we visit Google today, the whole Flintstones gang will be there to greet us with broad smiles, reminding the world of the halcyon days of our primordial yesteryear. And if that doesn’t make your Bed Rock with excitement, we don’t know what will.
Google Celebrates ‘Flintstones’ 50th Anniversary With Yet Another Doodle originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Big Announcement on the Existence of Aliens! (Maybe)

Following rumors that the United Nations tapped astrophysicist Mazlan Othman to be the official Ambassador of Earth should we come in contact with intelligent extraterrestrials, the web went into speculation overdrive pondering just what international powers-that-be might know. (Ms. Othman has denied the space promotion.)
The diplomat-to-the-stars story broke at the same time that a group of retired US airmen held a press conference to announce that they all had experiences with giant flying “cigar-shaped” objects that would regularly hover over military bases to observe and mess with US nuke silos.
Following these extraordinary announcements, the human species took a moment to meditate on its place in the vast cosmos. But that was boring so then we went back to what we do best: makin’ movies about internet billionaires, gossipin’ about Lindsay’s latest stab at staying off the sauce, and placin’ bets. Crazy bets! British odds-makers are taking bets that there will be an official announcement from either Barack Obama or David Cameron on the existence of extraterrestrial life within the next year–100-to-1 odds. Bookmaker William Hills has announced he has taken “multiple bets” that mankind will come into contact with real-life E.T.s and K-Paxes.
The odds were even better back in August (80-to-1) when it was revealed that Winston
Churchill covered
up a run-in a RAF aircraft had with a UFO during WWII fearing that the
incident might cause a national panic.
So, do the bookies and UN know something we don’t? Or are they just greedy and an unwieldy bureaucracy respectively? I hope for the former, but I’m betting on the latter.






