Amazon tests delivery drones at a secret site in Canada — here's why

If your Amazon order gets delivered by a drone sometime in the near future, you'll know Canada helped make that happen.

Seattle-based Amazon wants to deliver packages of under 2.3 kilograms (five pounds) in 30 minutes or less using its Amazon Prime Air autonomous drones in the near future.

'I think the [U.S.] rules make it difficult for companies to fully develop their technology.'— Diana Cooper, lawyer

But in the company's home country, it's had a hard time getting approval to do the tests it needs to make that a reality. U.S. rules on drone testing are restrictive and waits for approval are long.

So Amazon is conducting outdoor flight tests in Canada instead, something that many companies dealing in drones are starting to get interested in.

Amazon spokeswoman Kristen Kish confirmed in an email to CBC News that Amazon is doing controlled flight tests of drone prototypes in multiple international locations, including outdoors at a rural test site in Canada.

"We are rapidly experimenting and iterating on Amazon Prime Air, working to make it a reality," she said.

According to Transport Canada, the testing licence given to the Canadian-owned arm of Amazon went into effect on Dec. 17 and is good for a year. It specifies the drones' maximum altitude, minimum distances from people and property, operating areas and requirements for co-ordinating with air traffic services.

Amazon's secret Canadian test site is located in B.C., close to the U.S. border, reports the Guardian in the U.K.

The Federal Aviation Authority — the U.S. aviation regulator — announced earlier this month that it had granted Amazon approval to do outdoor testing of its delivery drones at a site in rural Washington.

Slow U.S. approval meant approved drone 'obsolete'

However, the approval had taken so long — six months — that the approved model was "obsolete," Paul Misener, Amazon's vice-president for global public policy, told the U.S. Senate committee on commerce, science and transportation a few days later.

"The permission the FAA granted is more restrictive than are the rules and approvals by which we conduct outdoor testing in the U.K. and elsewhere," he added, noting that in most countries, approval takes just weeks. Transport Canada says it aims to process applications within 20 working days.

Diana Cooper, an Ottawa-based lawyer who specializes in drone regulation, said the problem is that in the U.S., commercial drones are generally prohibited. In order to be able to test drones, a company must get an exemption from the ban.

Amazon hopes to deliver packages of under 2.3 kilograms in 30 minutes or less using its Amazon Prime Air autonomous drones. (Amazon)

While Canada has been giving out permits for commercial drones on a case-by-case basis for nearly a decade, the U.S. just started last fall and has only given out a few dozen, said Cooper, head of the unmanned aerial systems and robotics practice group at the law firm LaBarge Weinstein LLP.

"They're very difficult to get, take months to get, and they're not very permissive," she said.

U.S. permits have requirements that don't exist in Canada. For example, in the U.S., the drone operator must have a pilot's licence. They also ban operation of a drone that the pilot can't see directly at all times, something that Amazon deems essential to automated drone delivery.

"I think the rules make it difficult for companies to fully develop their technology."

In Canada, there are ways to test drones that aren't within the direct line of sight of operators. For example, Cooper said, Amazon obtained its own private, restricted airspace in B.C.

Amazon isn't alone with its difficulty getting drones approved in the U.S.

Other drone testers coming to Canada

Angela Schoellig, a drone researcher at the University of Toronto, said she and her collaborators at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology tried in two different ways to get licences to conduct drone tests for research in the U.S. and weren't successful.

"And that's pretty standard," she said.

Mike Peasgood, Steffen Lindner, and Dave Kroetsch, co-founders of Waterloo, Ont.-based Aeryon Labs, pose with one of their SkyRanger drones. Kroetsch thinks it will be years before Amazon can prove its drones are safe enough to deliver packages. (Aeryon Labs)

The researchers ended up doing outdoor tests in Canada.

"In Canada, it's mostly about safety," she said. "If you show that you know what you are doing, it's very likely that you'll get a licence."

That's drawing many companies like Amazon to do their drone testing in Canada. Cooper said she's been getting a lot of inquiries from prospective clients in the U.S. and Europe who are wondering how they can set up testing here and what kind of testing they can do.

She added, "It's a great win for Canada."

Dave Kroetsch, president and CEO of Aeryon Labs, a Waterloo, Ont.-based drone maker, said that the U.S. rules may seem restrictive for a company like Amazon, but they are broad enough for most other applications, such as inspecting roofs and reconstructing vehicle collisions.

However, he said, it's fantastic that Amazon is pushing new limits and able to move to Canada to develop its technology.

Kroestch warned, though, that it will be years before Amazon's technology can be deployed on a large scale.

"It's going to take quite awhile to prove that one of these things is safe to fly above the highway," he said. "Imagine it crashed on the 401. You could cause a 30-car pileup if it didn't work out well."

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

U.S. to pledge 28% emissions cut in new global climate change treaty

The United States will pledge Tuesday to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by up to 28 per cent as part of a global treaty aimed at preventing the worst effects of climate change, according to individuals briefed on the White House's plans.

The administration's contribution to the treaty, which world leaders expect to finalize in December, codifies a commitment President Barack Obama first made late last year in Beijing, when he announced a joint U.S.-China climate deal that raised global hopes that developed and developing nations can come together to fight climate change.

The U.S. proposal has drawn intense interest around the world. Most nations will miss Tuesday's informal deadline to convey their contributions to the UN — only the European Union, Switzerland and Mexico unveiled their pledges before the U.S. By announcing its commitment early, the U.S. hopes to dial up the political pressure on other countries to take equally ambitious steps to cut emissions.

The White House declined to comment ahead of the official announcement.

In the works for years, the treaty is set to be finalized in Paris in December. If it's successful, it will mark the first time all nations — not just wealthier ones like the U.S. — will have agreed to do something about climate change.

As part of its proposal, known to climate negotiators as an Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, the U.S. will also assert that its contribution is both ambitious and fair, said the individuals briefed on the U.S. proposal, who requested anonymity because the proposal hasn't been announced.

It was unclear what metrics the U.S. would use to back up that claim. But the American proposal is expected to emphasize that the Obama administration has accelerated the rate of emissions reductions nearly twofold. Early in his presidency, Obama committed to cut U.S. emissions 17 per cent by 2020; his subsequent goal for 2025 pushes it to between 26 per cent and 28 per cent.

Canada is among those nations that have not revealed the level of commitment they are willing to make as part of the treaty. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

How will the U.S. meet its goal? The Obama administration has avoided putting hard numbers on the size of emissions reductions it expects from specific steps its taking. In its submission, the EU listed specific economic sectors — such as transportation, energy and manufacturing — where it expects major reductions, and named the specific greenhouse gases it plans to cut.

In contrast, the U.S. is expected to point broadly to the steps Obama is taking through executive action, such as pollution limits on power plants, stricter vehicle emissions limits, and initiatives targeting specific gases like methane and hydrofluorocarbons.

Many of those steps face major legal challenges and intense political opposition, raising the risk that they could be undermined or even discarded once Obama leaves office in 2017.

"Considering that two-thirds of the U.S. federal government hasn't even signed off on the Clean Power Plan and 13 states have already pledged to fight it, our international partners should proceed with caution before entering into a binding, unattainable deal," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

More boys than girls are born, but sex ratio differs at conception

Every year, slightly more boy babies than girl babies are born worldwide. But back when sperm meets egg, the two sexes are conceived in equal numbers, a new study suggests.

That contradicts the idea found in many textbooks and scientific articles that males are in the majority at conception, researchers said.

And it implies more females than males die before birth, resulting in the excess of male births, says Steven Orzack, a study author.

"We don't have good information on the cause of this difference," he said.

The work, released Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also estimates the ratio of males to females at various points in pregnancy. It finds a see-sawing pattern over that time in which sex is more prone to die in the womb, as various genetic influences take their toll.

"We're gaining fundamental new insights in the biology of humans in the first nine months of life," Orzack said.

That biology "unfolds differently, starting soon after conception, between boys and girls," he said.

Orzack is president of the nonprofit Fresh Pond Research Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He reports the work with scientists from Harvard and Oxford universities and elsewhere.

In general, around 105 boys are born for every 100 girls worldwide. The imbalance, first noticed centuries ago, is a natural phenomenon not due to selective abortion of girls in some areas.

The study authors drew on a variety of sources for information on the male-female ratio throughout pregnancy, including abortions, genetic sampling of fetuses in the womb, and fetal deaths.

To estimate the sex ratio at conception, they examined data on nearly 140,000 embryos that had been routinely screened at fertility clinics in the United States and elsewhere for genetic problems.

The embryos were 3 to 6 days old. Analysis concluded that by that point, the sex breakdown was virtually 50-50. So extrapolating backward, "the best evidence we have is that the sex ratio at conception is even," Orzack said.

The fertility-clinic data provide the best available stand-in for what happens in natural conception, the authors said; their analysis shows those two ways of conceiving produce identical sex ratios for babies at birth.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bell accused of 'ganging up' on resale buyers by blacklisting phones

A Montreal father is taking on Canada's largest telecom, after Bell blacklisted his teenager's phone — not because it was reported stolen, but because the original buyer didn't pay Bell for the device under contract.

"It infuriated me," said Jeremy Price-Williams. "It's a case of the big guys ganging up on the little guys."

"It's my phone, and they are blacklisting it for no reason," said David Price-Williams, 17.

The blacklist is part of an international phone database. Carriers flag phones its customers report lost or stolen, using an ID number unique to the hardware, so other telecoms will know not to activate them.

David Price-Williams and his father, Jeremy, are taking Bell to court after it blacklisted the teen's second-hand phone over billing issues with its previous owner. (CBC)

In an opposite case, a Vancouver customer is upset with Virgin Mobile — owned by Bell — because the carrier failed to blacklist her phone, after she emailed to report it stolen while on a trip to Nicaragua.

"It didn't get blacklisted, shut off, deactivated or anything," said Michelle Allen.

She said she had to battle with Virgin over $2,700 in roaming charges racked up by the thief. Allen said Virgin forgave the bill only after she threatened to go public with CBC.

"The blacklisting system doesn't seem to work. Or else, they are just using it when it is convenient for them," said Allen.

'Who owns the phone?'

David Price-Williams, the Montreal phone owner, suggested Bell is misusing the system by blacklisting phones it can't collect on after they are unlocked and resold to people like him.

Telecoms share information to prevent stolen phones from working on any network. (CBC)

"You should be able to buy used phones if you want. They shouldn't be controlling the market like that," he said.

His father is taking Bell to small claims court.  

"It all boils down to, who owns the phone? And everybody at Bell we spoke to said the seller … he has every right to sell that phone."

The teen bought the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 in December through an ad on Kijiji, with $700 scraped together from his minimum-wage earnings.

Price-Williams asked the seller for his ID and his receipt, which showed Bell shipped it to the same customer, at the same address as on his driver's licence. That name and address is also listed on Canada 411.

The teen also called Bell, asking if the phone was restricted by contract.

Resale OK'd by Bell

"[Bell] said it would be OK, and that the phone was totally fine for me to buy," said Price-Williams.

Weeks later, the device stopped working. Telus — his provider — told him it had been blacklisted by Bell. 

Michelle Allen says her phone was not deactivated when she reported it stolen to Virgin Mobile. She had to fight over $2,700 in roaming charges racked up by the thief. (CBC)

"Unless the previous owner has his account up to date, the phone will continue to be on the national blacklist," Bell wrote in an email to the teen's father.

"I have contacted our fraud team to see if we are able to make an exception, because you did give us a call prior to purchasing the unit. Unfortunately the answer I got was a no, as the national blacklist is not controlled by Bell."

The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association gave Go Public the opposite information.

"Each participating carrier … is solely responsible for their own use of the database," said spokesman Marc Choma.

Any phone can be shut down

Fine print on the blacklist website suggests any phone can be made useless, as all carriers share information through the system.

"In certain circumstances, a wireless service provider may block a particular wireless device because of billing issues with the owner," it reads.

"Other Canadian wireless carriers may or may not allow such a wireless device to be used on their wireless networks."

"They should be going after the original owner of the phone," said technology industry analyst Carmi Levy.

After several weeks of using his Samsung Galaxy Note 4, David's cellphone suddenly stopped working. When he called the family's service provider, it told him the phone had been blacklisted by Bell. (CBC)

"This makes it easier for the carriers to force you to buy new, because you are afraid to buy used because there's a greater chance of it being cut off from their networks. Of course you are going to go to their store."

The industry association called that "ludicrous," but also stressed consumers shouldn't buy phones posted on Kijiji and other sites.

Avoid resale sites, telecoms say

"We strongly advise that Canadians only purchase pre-owned wireless devices from trusted sources, such as retailers, service providers, family, friends or through a referral," said Choma.

He said the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association​ asked Kijiji to post warnings on used phone ads, warning they could be blacklisted, but Kijiji didn't co-operate. Kijiji didn't respond to that accusation, but sent Go Public a list of tips.

Choma also said telecoms have every right to blacklist phones for fraud against the telecom.

"Let's say someone … signs up for service … has no intention of ever paying … turns around and sells [the] subsidized device," said Choma. "That does ultimately create a billing issue for the carrier, but it is also fraud."

Bell told Go Public it doesn't blacklist phones over simple delinquent bills. Go Public asked how many phones it has blacklisted, but received no answer.

Technology analyst Carmi Levy suggests that the blacklist is being used to discourage consumers from buying used phones and to push them into buying new. (CBC)

Bell now claims it flagged the Montreal phone after it found the original buyer used a fake identity. That means it can't go after him for non-payment.

"At that point, we assigned the phone to the … database, as we do with all phones stolen via fraud or other means." 

Rogers told Go Public it does not blacklist phones for fraud like this — only when they are reported lost or stolen. Telus said it does report phones obtained through fraud, but said it would try to do the "right thing" for the innocent buyer in a case like this.

Meanwhile, in the Vancouver case, Bell said Virgin didn't blacklist or deactivate Allen's phone right away, because she reported it stolen via an email address it uses for billing.

---

Submit your story ideas:

Go Public is an investigative news segment on CBC-TV, radio and the web.
We tell your stories and hold the powers that be accountable.
We want to hear from people across the country with stories they want to make public.

Submit your story ideas to Kathy Tomlinson at Go Public

Follow @CBCGoPublic on Twitter

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

What killed Future Shop? The pampered cybershopper — and free online advice

Electronics stores are suffering from the rise of the pampered, fulfilled cybershopper who can now get everything online, even advice.

Experts say it's no surprise that Future Shop shut down on Saturday, closing 66 of its stores and converting the other 65 to Best Buy outlets. It's just the latest in a string of electronic store closures including most recently, all 14 Canadian Sony stores.

While online shopping is growing in popularity, bricks and mortar electronics stores always had something extra to offer — the opportunity for consumers to experience the product plus expert advice from staff who could decode those complicated gadgets.

But industry critics claim that incentive is waning thanks to a growing plethora of online written reviews, videos, and forums. Now, shoppers can learn everything on the internet and then buy their electronics anywhere — from Amazon to Walmart.

Showrooming is so yesterday

'What information could that sales clerk give me that I couldn't get online?'- Ken Wong, marketing expert

Marketing expert Ken Wong says electronics shoppers have fewer reasons these days to step foot in a store because of what they can do online.

"They can access product reviews and comparisons, run price checks and even poll their network of 'friends' for their insights," says the Queen's University professor.

Both Future Shop and its parent company, Best Buy Canada, have been suffering for years from what's called 'showrooming' — customers check out the goods in their stores, get expert advice from staff and then buy the products for cheaper from online–only outlets with lower overhead costs.

But now, says Wong, the problem has worsened as customers don't even bother entering the store for advice where they might be roped into an impulse purchase.

"What information could that sales clerk give me that I couldn't get online?" he asks.

Free advice

Retail expert, Mandeep Malik points to online expert opinion websites such as CNET and PCWorld where electronics shoppers can read up on any hot electronics product — for free.

The McMaster University professor says consumers are more apt to trust free online reviews than those doled out by a salesperson paid to push product.

"People leverage those [online reviews] much more because they see them as [unbiased] views," he says.

Malik does note that many people are still shopping in stores as opposed to online. But, he says, because numerous consumers are finding advice on the internet, there's no reason to seek out an electronics specialty store.

"You can go pick up the same thing from Walmart and Costco," he says.

Couch surfers

Elias Peixoto, 21, doesn't even make it to Walmart or Costco. He says he buys most of his electronics online now and he always begins with a Google search to find advice.

He especially enjoys the "unboxing" videos on YouTube from the comfort of his couch. This is how he decided to buy the new iPhone 6.

"The reviewer will just tell you, here's what I like, here's what I don't like. And he'll show you the phone really up close within two to three inches of the camera so you can see everything about it," he says.

"I don't really have to go in to the store," he adds.

Marketing expert, Ken Wong, says Best Buy needs to fight back by offering in-store incentives such as unique items and opportunities to play with products — not just powered up TVs on the wall or stereo systems on display that can't be plugged in.

Best Buy turns to appliances

And it looks like Best Buy is on it. On the same day it announced the death of Future Shop, the company also stated that it is investing $200 million in both its stores and online shopping site to offer a "multi-channel customer experience."

The plan includes selling major home appliances in stores, a product many still prefer to buy in person. Best Buy is also promising to showcase better its in-store products and hire more staff to serve customers.

The company also plans to expand its program where online shoppers can reserve and then pick in-store items.

But, even with incentives, it may be a struggle to get contented shoppers off the couch and back into the electronics store when they are now served so well in cyberspace.

"It's a time-saver and so convenient because I can be sitting in my living room doing nothing and I can be shopping," says Peixoto.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Github coding site hit by cyberattack

The Wall Street Journal reported that the flood of internet traffic to GitHub came from Chinese search engine Baidu Inc., targeting two GitHub pages that linked to copies of sites banned in China. (Canadian Press)

GitHub, a popular social coding site for programmers, is fighting a days-long cyberattack that reportedly originates in China.

The U.S. coding site GitHub said on Sunday it was deflecting most of the traffic from the cyberattack that had caused intermittent outages. The Wall Street Journal cited China as the source of the attack.

"Eighty-seven hours in, our mitigation is deflecting most attack traffic," the GitHub Status account said in a tweet. "We're aware of intermittent issues and continue to adapt our response."

However, this morning, Github said the attack had evolved and it was "working to mitigate."

GitHub supplies coding tools for developers and calls itself the world's largest code host.

The attackers paralyzed the site at times by using distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attacks, a technique commonly used to disrupt websites and computer networks, according to the Wall Street Journal.

They pushed massive amounts of traffic to GitHub by redirecting overseas users of the popular Chinese search engine Baidu Inc, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper said they targeted two GitHub pages that link to copies of websites banned in China - a Mandarin-language site from the New York Times Co and Greatfire.org, which helps Chinese users circumvent government censorship.

A Beijing-based Baidu spokesman said a thorough investigation had determined it was neither a security problem on Baidu's side nor a hacking attack.

"We have notified other security organizations and are working to get to the bottom of this," the spokesman said.

On its blog, GitHub said the attack began early on Thursday and involved "every vector we've seen in previous attacks as well as some sophisticated new techniques that use the web browsers of unsuspecting, uninvolved people to flood github.com with high levels of traffic.

GitHub said it believed the intent of the attack was to convince the company to remove a specific class of content.

The Chinese government has repeatedly denied it has anything to do with hacking.

Asked about the report, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China itself was one of the world's largest victims of hacking, and called for constructive international dialogue to tackle the issue.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Why the Middle East's tech sector is 'a transformative force'

It's fair to assume that when the average westerner thinks of Beirut, they're more likely to picture sectarian conflict than digital innovation.

But a technology conference held in the Lebanese capital last week showed that the region is becoming a hub for all things digital, thanks to a young, educated and resourceful population eager to solve its many problems.

'The digital sector in the Middle East has gone from being the focus of a few geeks to being a transformative force at the top of the agendas of the region's leading CEOs and government leaders'- Omar Christidis, ArabNet founder

Kelly Hoey, a New York-based Canadian who founded the startup accelerator Women Innovate Mobile, cited the quality of education in the Middle East and a plethora of advanced degrees in fields such as engineering as a major reason this region is one to watch for innovation.

"That is a massive, massive advantage that this region should take hold of," said Hoey, speaking on a panel discussion at ArabNet.

"In the U.S., where I now live, and Canada, where I'm from, we have a talent shortage of tsunami level that's about to hit us because we can't produce enough engineers."

ArabNet, which just wrapped up its sixth edition, is one of the largest forums for the Middle East's burgeoning tech startup industry.

The region's e-commerce market is estimated to reach 15 billion US this year.

"The digital sector in the Middle East has gone from being the focus of a few geeks to being a transformative force at the top of the agendas of the region's leading CEOs and government leaders," said Omar Christidis, the conference's founder and CEO, in his opening address on March 18.

A 31-year-old Yale graduate, Christidis – who is of Greek, Syrian and Palestinian origin – presided over an event that brought together around 80 speakers, 40 sponsors and partners and 700 attendees.

Among them were some of the Middle East's best and brightest entrepreneurs and most influential investors and venture capitalists, as well as Lebanese government officials and international powerhouses from the digital field, such as Microsoft and UKTI Investment Services.

More than 'a few geeks'

Omar Christidis, far left, the founder and CEO of ArabNet, said in his opening address that the tech sector in the Middle East has gone 'from being the focus of a few geeks to being a transformative force at the top of the agendas of the region's leading CEOs and government leaders.' (Sophie Chamas/CBC)

In Beirut's Grand Habtoor Hotel, people browsed a tech fair and attended panels, talks and workshops that touched on a diversity of topics, from how indie musicians can benefit from digital platforms to the importance of social media for connecting governments to their constituencies to the role of technology in advertising.

Entrepreneurs presented their ideas and startups in three competitions judged by industry leaders. Three major funds were announced, including 71 million US for Beirut- and Dubai-based firm Leap Ventures, which aims to invest between three and seven million US in three regional startups a year.

Over the last few years, international entrepreneurs and investors such as Christopher Schroeder have been arguing that young people in the Middle East have the means to create large-scale socio-economic transformations in the region.

From meeting the demand for Arabic-language web content and online payment systems to finding more efficient ways of accessing healthcare services, there are plenty of issues to address.

At ArabNet, young entrepreneurs introduced many ideas for applications aimed at improving the quality of life in a chaotic Middle East.

One example was the mobile app Safe Drive from Egypt, which informs drivers about potholes and other safety hazards along their routes. Another was Fawateri from Bahrain, an Arabic-language bill payment system for small businesses that can incorporate local and international currencies.  

Highly educated youth

Schroeder and others cite a population of 100 million people under the age of 15, a rapid rise in internet and smartphone penetration and a highly educated youth with degrees in fields such as computer science and engineering as evidence that the region holds great entrepreneurial potential.

In her talk, Hoey emphasized the abundance of female talent in particular. "The fact that there are so many [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] degrees in this region that are going to women is something it should capitalize on."

There were plenty of female entrepreneurs in attendance at ArabNet. One of them was Maya Zankoul, a Lebanese graphic designer who was promoting her latest venture, Wezank.

The company produces charming explainer videos that introduce products or initiatives, satisfying a growing demand in the Middle East for easily digestible audio-visual guides.

So far, Wezank's portfolio includes a guide to enrolling in Nestlé's Fitness Arabia challenge and infographics for Lebanon's Ministry of Economy and Trade.

Myriad apps

The fair introduced several small-scale initiatives, such as Sirius from Egypt, an app for light painting, which uses light sources to manipulate photographs. It also had devices with broader appeal, such as a tap-to-pay bracelet from Lebanon's Bank Audi.

The winner of the ArabNet's Startup Demo competition was Egypt's Otlobdoctor.com, an online medical directory developed by local doctors. (Sophie Chamas/CBC)

Meanwhile, the Startup Demo, Ideathon and Creative Combat competitions pitted budding business ideas against one another.

Among the winners was a matchmaking app called MySportner, which was created by Morocco's Kenza Bennani, a running enthusiast who came up with the idea when she couldn't find anyone to train with for a marathon.

The winner of the Startup Demo competition was Egypt's Otlobdoctor.com, an online medical directory developed by resourceful local doctors. It provides what the company refers to as a "complete medical solution," including access to doctors' resumes, the option to request a house visit, ratings and the ability to notify paramedics of one's exact location through GPS.

Since its founding in 2009, Christidis explained that 40 per cent of entrepreneurs who pitched at ArabNet went on to meet investors. Seventy per cent gained new clients and 80 per cent received media exposure.

Speaking at the event, the British ambassador to Lebanon, Tom Fletcher, called the work of the region's startup industry, its entrepreneurs and their patrons revolutionary.

"The people who want you to fail," he said, "are the extremists, warlords, kleptocrats and securocrats, because you're a threat to all of them. But be in no doubt, you will win, because you move faster than anyone else…This ArabNet conference is where power is right now."

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Earth Hour: 4 things to know about the annual environmental event

Hundreds of millions of homes and businesses around the world will go dark Saturday night as part of Earth Hour, an annual event meant to raise awareness about climate change and the environment.

Now in its ninth year, Earth Hour encourages individuals and organizations around the world to turn off all of their non-essential lights for one hour. This year, it's scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, March 28.

Organizers say Earth Hour has become the world's largest grassroots movement in support of the environment, and it has continued to grow with each passing year. More than 7,000 cities and towns in 162 countries and territories took part in Earth Hour in 2014. This year, the group behind the campaign says 172 countries are expected to take part. 

Whether you've participated in Earth Hour before or are thinking about taking part for the first time, here are a few things to know about it.

Creating awareness about climate change

The idea for Earth Hour was first conceived by the World Wildlife Fund in Australia in 2005 in response to scientific data revealing the devastating impact of climate change. The environmental advocacy group teamed up with advertising agency Leo Burnett and came up with the idea of a large-scale 'lights-out' event. Back then, the project was called "The Big Flick."

It was born in Sydney, but soon went international

A woman holds up a candle during an Earth Hour vigil in Mumbai, India, in 2011. Earth Hour, a global call to turn off all non-essential lights for 60 minutes in a bid to highlight global climate change, takes place worldwide this year at 8.30 p.m. local time. (Rajanish Kakade/Associated Press)

The inaugural Earth Hour was held in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 at 7:30 p.m. About 2.2. million people and 2,100 businesses across the city participated. It was deemed such a success that there were plans to make Earth Hour a national event in Australia.

Those plans were quickly expanded once organizers realized how much international interest the campaign had drummed up. Earth Hour went global the following year with 371 cities and towns in more than 35 countries taking part.

On March 5, 2015, Earth Hour received four awards at Marketing magazine's PR Awards, including "Best Digital Communication Strategy."

Held in March to coincide with the equinoxes

Earth Hour is held every year in late March, around the time of the Spring and Autumn equinoxes in the northern and southern hemispheres. This is when sunset times are almost the same in both hemispheres. Organizers say this ensures the greatest visual impact for a global 'lights out' event.

Major landmarks also 'go dark' for Earth Hour

Major landmarks around the world have taken part in Earth Hour, including the Sydney Opera House, the Great Pyramids, the Empire State Building and the Las Vegas Strip. Even the so-called City of Lights has gone dark, with the Eiffel Tower shutting off its power.

Lights on Toronto's CN Tower were turned off during Earth Hour's first international campaign in 2008, as thousands of people across the city joined in.  

IN 2015, about 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Acropolis in Athens and Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, plan to go dark in support of Earth Hour.

Not to be left out, websites have also found ways to take part in Earth Hour. The Google homepage in many countries has 'gone dark' by switching its usually-white background to black.

Earth Hour Blue, a crowdsourcing and crowdfunding online platform that supports environmental projects, was launched in 2014 and has raised more than $61,000 US.

On Twitter, Earth Hour organizers want people to use  #yourpower as a hashtag.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Russian, American astronauts begin their year in space

Two Russians and an American floated into the International Space Station on Saturday, beginning what is to be a year away from Earth for two of them.

Mikhail Kornienko and Scott Kelly are to spend 342 days aboard the orbiting laboratory, about twice as long as a standard mission on the station. Russia's Gennady Padalka is beginning a six-month stay.

The three astronauts entered the station about eight hours after launching from Russia's manned space facility in Kazakhstan. They were embraced by American Terry Virts and Russia's Anton Shkaplerov who along with Italian Samantha Cristoforetti have been aboard since late November.

The trip is NASA's first attempt at a one-year spaceflight; four Russians have spent a year or more in space, all on the Soviet-built Mir space station.

Preparing for mission to Mars

The stay is aimed at measuring the effects of a prolonged period of weightlessness on the human body, a step toward possible missions to Mars or beyond.

Kelly's identical twin Mark, a retired astronaut, agreed to take part in many of the same medical experiments as his orbiting sibling to help scientists see how a body in space compares with its genetic double on Earth. They are 51.

The Soyuz-FG rocket, carrying a new crew to the International Space Station, blasts off at the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, on Friday, March 28, 2015. The Russian rocket was carrying U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly, Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka, and Mikhail Korniyenko. (Dmitry Lovetsky/AP)

Kelly and Kornienko, 54, will remain on board until next March. During that time, they will undergo extensive medical experiments, and prepare the station for the anticipated 2017 arrival of new U.S. commercial crew capsules. That means a series of spacewalks for Kelly, which will be his first.

The two men also will oversee the comings and goings of numerous cargo ships, as well as other Russian-launched space crews and an expected September visit from singer Sarah Brightman on a "space tourist" trip.

Doctors are eager to learn what happens to Kelly and Kornienko once they surpass the usual six-month stay for space station residents.

Scientists already know about certain physiological effects possible with those missions. They include:

• Exposure to radiation.
• Weakening bones and muscles.
• Changes to immunity.
• Pressure on the brain and eyes.

Bones and muscles weaken because of weightlessness. Body fluids shift into the head when gravity is absent, putting pressure on the brain and the eyes, impairing vision for some astronauts in space.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly walks after donning his space suit at the Baikonur cosmodrome on Friday, before blasting off in the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft from Kazakhstan. (Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)

The yearlong stint will allow doctors to assess whether such conditions are aggravated by a long spell in space or whether they reach a point of stasis or even taper off.

As space officials look to longer missions, the International Space Station's future appears ensured until at least 2024.

Last year, as tensions between Russia and the United States grew amid the dispute over Russia's role in Ukraine, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin had said Moscow aimed to exit the project in 2020.

But Russian space agency director Igor Komarov told a post-launch news conference in Baikonur that his agency and NASA have agreed to continue using the station until 2024.

In addition, "Roscosmos and NASA will work on a program for a future orbiting station. We will think about discuss joint projects," he said. Just last month, Roscosmos said it foresaw creating a Russian station for use after 2024.

NASA has never flown anyone longer than seven consecutive months. The Russians hold the world record of 14 months in space, set by Valery Polyakov aboard the former Mir space station in 1994-95. Several other Russians spent between eight and 12 months at Mir. All but one of those long-timers are still alive.

Emotional impact of living in space

A year in space will carry not only physical challenges, but emotional ones as well.

A day before the launch, Kornienko said he would long for the sights of nature. Even on his mission in 2010, which was half as long, he said he had asked to be sent a calendar with photos of rivers and woods.

Kelly said he thought one of the biggest challenges would be to pace himself mentally so he could remain energetic during the year aboard the laboratory.

But he joked that he wouldn't miss his sibling.

"I've gone longer without seeing him, and it was great," he said.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Yukon inventor opens the door to year-round growing

A green geometric dome at the Yukon Research Centre is a prototype for a project aimed at growing vegetables all winter long. 

The structure is the brainchild of project manager Glenn Scott with Yukon College's Cold Climate Innovation.

The inventor tested his "Agridome" this winter. 

"Unfortunately we didn't have a terribly cold winter here in the Yukon. I was probably the only guy sitting around praying for negative 40 because I wanted to see exactly what the dome would do," says Scott.

"Right now it's certainly in a very very big experimentation phase but the unit definitely works, we're getting some good, solid plant growth here."

Glenn Scott, inventor of the Agridome, has successfully grown plants over the winter. (Mike Rudyk/CBC)

Scott built a greenhouse that optimizes the amount of space used to grow plants, while using minimal heat. 

"The less space that I have to use, the less money that will have to be spent on actually heating that structure."

Scott says domes are the most energy efficient structure by virtue of their surface-area-to-volume ratio. The opaque structure is super-insulated and lined with plastic sheeting to reflect the energy-efficient lighting inside.

Vegetables and herbs grow in neat vertical rows, getting their nutrients from a spray which is absorbed by soil-less "rockwool" around the plant roots.  

The system, called vertical aeroponics, means 32 square feet can grow upwards of 600 plants. This winter, Scott successfully experimented with conventional plants, including tomatoes, peppers, sweet peas and herbs. 

​"On the couple of nights when it actually did go down to -35C, with only a standard space heater consuming 1,500 watts, I was still able to maintain a temperature of 15 degrees in here," he says.

"That was a very clear indicator that yes — this structure is entirely appropriate for these kinds of extreme environments." 

Plants grow in vertical rows, getting their nutrients from a spray which is absorbed by soil-less "rockwool" around the plant roots. (Mike Rudyk/CBC)

Right now Glenn's plants are tiny, but he has big expectations for them to grow in the next month or so. He's already inventing a method of wiring and shelving, to hold the heavy fruits of his labour.

Scott hopes this prototype will eventually be used in communities throughout the Yukon, providing cheap and fresh vegetables, using a minimum of money and energy.

The Yukon Research Centre is funding the Agridome project, with money from the Yukon and federal governments.

Stephen Mooney, director of Cold Climate Innovation, says they are always looking for bright ideas like this one. 

"Any Yukoner can come through our doors, meet with our team, and sit down and discuss the ideas. And we get all types of ideas, it doesn't just have to be greenhousing — we're open," says Mooney. 

Glenn Scott gives a tour of the Agridome at Yukon Research Centre. (Philippe Morin/CBC)

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Earth Hour: 4 things to know about the annual evironmental event

Hundreds of millions of homes and businesses around the world will go dark Saturday night as part of Earth Hour, an annual event meant to raise awareness about climate change and the environment.

Now in its ninth year, Earth Hour encourages individuals and organizations around the world to turn off all of their non-essential lights for one hour. This year, it's scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, March 28.

Organizers say Earth Hour has become the world's largest grassroots movement in support of the environment, and it has continued to grow with each passing year. More than 7,000 cities and towns in 162 countries and territories took part in Earth Hour in 2014. This year, the group behind the campaign says 172 countries are expected to take part. 

Whether you've participated in Earth Hour before or are thinking about taking part for the first time, here are a few things to know about it.

Creating awareness about climate change

The idea for Earth Hour was first conceived by the World Wildlife Fund in Australia in 2005 in response to scientific data revealing the devastating impact of climate change. The environmental advocacy group teamed up with advertising agency Leo Burnett and came up with the idea of a large-scale 'lights-out' event. Back then, the project was called "The Big Flick."

It was born in Sydney, but soon went international

A woman holds up a candle during an Earth Hour vigil in Mumbai, India, in 2011. Earth Hour, a global call to turn off all non-essential lights for 60 minutes in a bid to highlight global climate change, takes place worldwide this year at 8.30 p.m. local time. (Rajanish Kakade/Associated Press)

The inaugural Earth Hour was held in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 at 7:30 p.m. About 2.2. million people and 2,100 businesses across the city participated. It was deemed such a success that there were plans to make Earth Hour a national event in Australia.

Those plans were quickly expanded once organizers realized how much international interest the campaign had drummed up. Earth Hour went global the following year with 371 cities and towns in more than 35 countries taking part.

On March 5, 2015, Earth Hour received four awards at Marketing magazine's PR Awards, including "Best Digital Communication Strategy."

Held in March to coincide with the equinoxes

Earth Hour is held every year in late March, around the time of the Spring and Autumn equinoxes in the northern and southern hemispheres. This is when sunset times are almost the same in both hemispheres. Organizers say this ensures the greatest visual impact for a global 'lights out' event.

Major landmarks also 'go dark' for Earth Hour

Major landmarks around the world have taken part in Earth Hour, including the Sydney Opera House, the Great Pyramids, the Empire State Building and the Las Vegas Strip. Even the so-called City of Lights has gone dark, with the Eiffel Tower shutting off its power.

Lights on Toronto's CN Tower were turned off during Earth Hour's first international campaign in 2008, as thousands of people across the city joined in.  

IN 2015, about 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Acropolis in Athens and Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, plan to go dark in support of Earth Hour.

Not to be left out, websites have also found ways to take part in Earth Hour. The Google homepage in many countries has 'gone dark' by switching its usually-white background to black.

Earth Hour Blue, a crowdsourcing and crowdfunding online platform that supports environmental projects, was launched in 2014 and has raised more than $61,000 US.

On Twitter, Earth Hour organizers want people to use  #yourpower as a hashtag.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Yearlong space mission blasts off: 5 things to know

An American astronaut and Russian cosmonaut blasted off into space today, on their way to the International Space Station, where they will live for an entire year.

The trip is NASA's first attempt at a one-year spaceflight, anticipating Mars expeditions that would last two to three years.

Their Soyuz space capsule set off from Russia's manned space launch facility on the steppes of Kazakhstan at 3:42 p.m. ET Friday (early Saturday local time) and is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station about six hours later after making four orbits of the planet.

Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka of Russia was also aboard their Soyuz capsule. He is scheduled for the standard six-month tour of duty aboard the space station.

At a news conference Thursday at the Russian manned-space facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Kornienko said "we will be missing nature, we will be missing landscapes, woods." He admitted that on his previous trip into space in 2010 "I even asked our psychological support folks to send me a calendar with photographs of nature, of rivers, of woods, of lakes."

Kelly was asked if he'd miss his twin brother Mark, who also was an astronaut.

"We're used to this kind of thing," he said. "I've gone longer without seeing him and it was great."

The mission won't be the longest time that a human has spent in space — four Russians spent a year or more aboard the Soviet-built Mir space station in the 1990s.

Scott Kelly (left) was asked Thursday if he'd miss his twin brother, Mark, who also was an astronaut. 'We're used to this kind of thing,' he said. 'I've gone longer without seeing him and it was great.' (NASA/Associated Press)

"The last time we had such a long duration flight was almost 20 years and of course all ... scientific techniques are more advanced than 20 years ago and right now we need to test the capability of a human being to perform such long-duration flights. So this is the main objective of our flight, to test ourselves," said Kornienko."

"One of the differences here is that we're doing it as an international partnership, and if we're going to go beyond low-Earth orbit again, perhaps to Mars, because of the cost and the complexity it will most likely be an international mission so we see this as a stepping stone to that," Kelly said.

"If you're ever going to go to Mars, going from a place like this would be, you know, a step in the right direction," Kelly said of Baikonur, set amid the vast and barren steppes of central Asia.

It will be NASA's first stab at a one-year spaceflight, a predecessor for Mars expeditions that would last two to three times as long. 

Five things to know about the duo's extraordinary endeavour:

1. The crew

Both Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko have lived on the space station before. No-nonsense former military men, they were selected as an astronaut and cosmonaut in the 1990s. Kelly, 51, is a retired navy captain and former space shuttle commander. Kornienko, 54, is a former paratrooper. The pair blasted off with Russian Gennady Padalka, a veteran spaceman who will spend six months at the orbiting lab.

2. The mission

Kelly and Kornienko will remain on board until next March. During that time, they will undergo extensive medical experiments, and prepare the station for the anticipated 2017 arrival of new U.S. commercial crew capsules. That means a series of spacewalks for Kelly. They also will oversee the comings and goings of numerous cargo ships, as well as other Russian-launched crews. Soprano superstar Sarah Brightman will stop by as a space tourist in September.

3. The science

Doctors are eager to learn what happens to Kelly and Kornienko once they surpass the usual six-month stay for space station residents. Bones and muscles weaken in weightlessness, as does the immune system. Body fluids also shift into the head when gravity is absent, and that puts pressure on the brain and the eyes, impairing vision for some astronauts in space. Might these afflictions peter out after six months, hold steady or ramp up? That's what researchers want to find out so they can protect Mars-bound crews in the decades ahead.

4. The twins

Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko began their marathon mission with a Soyuz rocket launch from Kazakhstan. (Bill Stafford/NASA)

NASA's scientists couldn't resist when Kelly's identical twin brother, Mark, a retired astronaut, agreed to take part in many of the same medical experiments as his orbiting sibling. Researchers are eager to see how the space body compares with its genetic double on the ground. They won't follow the same diet or exercise regime, however. Mark said he has no intentions of consuming bland space-type food or working out and running two hours a day on a treadmill, as his brother will be doing.

5. The history

NASA and the Russian Space Agency announced Kelly and Kornienko as the one-year crew in late 2012. This will be new territory for NASA, which has never flown anyone longer than seven consecutive months. The Russians hold the world record of 14 months, set by a physician-cosmonaut aboard the former Mir station in 1994-1995. Several other Russians spent between eight and 12 months at Mir. All but one of those long-timers are still alive.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Why Bell, Telus and Rogers have a lock on fibre optic lines into your home

If you want a fibre optic cable – the latest, hottest connection to the internet – brace yourself for some surprises.

When Eric Rosenquist and his wife were downsizing from their sprawling, rural acreage, they had a few items on their wish list.

For Rosenquist, a software engineer with between 30 and 40 devices in his home connected to the web, a strong, fast internet connection was essential.

He found that in Richardson Ridge, a housing development still under construction in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata.

"Being a newer neighbourhood, Bell wired it with fibre right into the home," says Rosenquist, "so it's great, because you've got the most modern type of conductivity."

But there's a downside. Because Bell laid down the fibre to the home (FTTH), they're not obligated to open it to third parties. 

"So if I want internet service — or any service  — over that fibre line, it has to be from Bell," says Rosenquist.

For years, the big telcos and cable companies have been compelled to allow their competitors access to their copper and coaxial networks. But Bell, Rogers and Telus have been upgrading their networks to fibre optic technology, and if you want that high-speed cable coming directly into your home, you have to go with one of the Big Three.

The Big Three: It's ours

The fight over FTTH (some call it FTTP or Fibre-to-the-premises) is now before the CRTC, with many of the same arguments for access being presented by both sides.

In its presentation to the CRTC, Bell says it only builds the final leg, or fibre drop, to the home when a customer subscribes. It says that represents up to a third of the capital costs. Bell says opening up those lines to wholesale access would deter investment.

"Those who invest in facilities would be forced to incur capital expenditures purely for the benefit of their competitors," Bell says. "Expanding mandated access rules threatens to create or accentuate a digital divide, where only some Canadians benefit from a competitive choice of next generation networks. That would be an unfortunate outcome."

CRTC rules that forced the Big Three to share their wiring paved the way for independent service providers such as Start Communications, TekSavvy, Vmedia and a host of others to offer internet, phone and TV service, often at lower prices than the Big Three.

But these smaller providers say without access to FTTH, they can't compete.

"It's crucial," says George Burger of Vmedia, a Toronto-based internet protocol TV provider.

George Burger of Vmedia says fibre is the future. (CBC News )

Most current broadband plans offer top speeds of between 50 and 60 Mbps. Fibre can reach speeds in excess of 1,000 Mbps. And unlike copper, fibre's speed isn't affected by electrical interference, distance to the node, number of connections or network traffic. 

We have to be able to have access to that kind of infrastructure or else we are going to be essentially infrastructured out of the market.- George Burger, Vmedia

Burger says the move to fibre is akin to the switch to broadband from dial-up.

"As we move...from low-speed internet, which we have now, to super high speed, which you see in the rest of the world that's delivered by fibre, we have to be able to have access to that kind of infrastructure or else we'll essentially be 'infrastructured' out of the market," says Burger.

Everybody wants it

The explosive growth of video is what is driving that need for speed, Burger says.

"The actual usage of capacity is increasing by 30 to 40 per cent per year because of the increased demand for video content and high-quality video."

But it's not just about the growing popularity of data-hogging 4K content from providers such as Netflix and YouTube.

Without unfettered access to fibre, some say Canada won't be able to remain economically competitive.  

In its report The Future of Broadband Internet Access in Canada, Alberta's not-for-profit advanced technology agency Cybera says, "Fibre that is capable of carrying 1,000 Mbps+ speeds will be the backbone on which Canada's digital economy will grow and thrive."

"This means competitive access to next generation FTTP infrastructure and technology."

Cybera says Canada significantly trails other OECD countries when it comes to FTTP penetration, which is one reason, it says, for Canada's poor ranking in overall internet speed  — we come in at 35th.

Let's make a deal

Eric Rosenquist can see both sides.

"The [big telco] companies argue before the CRTC that they need exclusive access to those fibre to the home lines in order to recoup their investment. And there is a little bit of truth to that," Rosenquist says.

"But on the other hand, they would have been doing this anyway. They have to do it to stay modern and to compete." 

What about places where there is existing infrastructure in place? If Bell or Rogers has to share their FTTH lines there, what incentive is there to upgrade?

In those instances, Rosenquist says, regulators may need to get creative.

He suggests giving Bell or Rogers or the company that rips out the old wiring and replaces it with fibre "a certain timeframe of exclusivity, 18 months, two years, something... Pick a number. And after that, open it up."

The CRTC is expected to release its decision on FTTH in the next couple of months.

---

If you have a consumer issue, contact Aaron Saltzman.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Alberta camel-hunting site points to mysterious prehistoric people

A discovery by an Alberta schoolteacher may have revealed where ancient camels and horses met humans for the first time in North America.

The prehistoric horse and camel butchering site discovered by Shayne Tolman at Wally's Beach, Alta., is unique on the continent, and the only direct evidence found in North America of people hunting horses and camels.

"We've got the stone tools and we've got the cut marks on camel and horse bones and little packages of bone – it looks like they've been cut up into roasts," says Brian Kooyman, a University of Calgary archeologist who helped excavate the site.

'It must have looked like the Serengeti plains of Africa.'—Shayne Tolman

Now, based on new radiocarbon dating analysis, it turns out that the site is even more special. It represents some of the only evidence ever discovered about the lives of the mysterious early North Americans who lived before the "Clovis culture." The Clovis culture, which emerged around 13,000 years ago, is well-known to archeologists, who identify it by the characteristic style of spear points they left across much of North America.

The Wally's Beach, Alta., archeological site is normally under water at the bottom of St. Mary's reservoir. But every few years during a dry winter, the water level falls low enough to expose the soil containing artifacts. (Brian Kooyman/University of Calgary)

The Wally's Beach archeological site is normally at the bottom of St. Mary's reservoir, under two or three storeys' worth of water. But every several years during a dry winter, the water level falls low enough to expose the soil.

Harsh winter winds

It was during one of those times in 1996 when Tolman, who teaches at Westwind Alternative School in Cardston, Alta., decided to hunt there for archeological artifacts. He knew that the winter winds whipping across the reservoir were stripping away the soil and might expose something interesting.

Camels originated in North America, but went extinct here about 2,000 years after humans started hunting them. (Desmond Boylan/Reuters)

Braving the harsh winter weather turned out to be worth it. On his first visit, Tolman made an exciting discovery — an ancient spear point.

But that was just a beginning. On subsequent visits with his family, he came across a gravel bar littered with spear points, dart points and arrowheads, along with ancient animal bones.

"That first weekend … we picked up about 80 projectile points," Tolman told CBC News. Even more exciting was the fact that the first one he picked up showed characteristics of being from the Clovis culture. "In Alberta, we don't have many exposures, if any really, that date back that far."

Over two years, he collected about 3,000 artifacts and bones. Eventually, geoscientist Len Hills and Kooyman at the University of Calgary heard about it and got involved in excavations. Tolman ended up working with them on a Master's degree in archaeology.

Not only was the site rich in archeological artifacts and bones, but it was also covered in tracks of animals, including horses, camels, muskox, caribou, mammoths and bison. It seems it was once a popular river crossing in the middle of a vast grassy steppe roamed by huge herds of grazing animals.

Butchered camel remains at Wally's Beach represent the only direct evidence that prehistoric humans hunted the animals in North America. (Brian Kooyman/University of Calgary)

"It must have looked like the Serengeti plains of Africa," Tolman said.

Preliminary radiocarbon dating suggested the site dated to Clovis times, but Michael Waters, an anthropologist at Texas A&M University, suspected that they could be older.

He contacted Kooyman and offered to test the samples using a rigorous technique to remove any possible contamination.

The results, published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that the horses and camels were killed and butchered 300 years before the Clovis culture arose – that is, they were from a time that archeologists know very little about.

Humans in north, horses in south

Kooyman said the Wally's Beach site likely represents some of the first encounters between humans and grasslands animals such as horses and camels. Those animals were trapped south of the ice sheet that covered most of Canada during the last ice age. That same ice sheet is widely believed to have kept them separated for thousands of years from the humans who had crossed over from Asia on the Bering land bridge, around 15,000 years ago and had been making their way southward along the west coast ever since.

Along with archeological artifacts and bones, researchers found lots of animal tracks, such as the mammoth prints that the late University of Calgary archeologist Len Hills is looking at in this photo. (Brian Kooyman/University of Calgary)

"When you put those dates in the context we have now, it's really incredible," Kooyman said.

He added that the site shows that the people who lived before the Clovis culture used different hunting technology and hunted different animals — the Clovis people hunted mammoths and bison, but not horses. He believes that the people who hunted at Wally's beach were likely the ancestors of the Clovis people.

Waters said the research also shows that humans had been hunting horses and camels for 2,000 years before they went extinct in North America. While climate change is thought to have played the biggest role in wiping out those animals, the Wally's Beach evidence suggests that human hunting was also a factor.

Tolman is thrilled by the new findings.

The remains found at Wally's Beach include bones with cut marks and 'little packages of bone' that look like they've been cut up into roasts, says Brian Kooyman of the University of Calgary. (Brian Kooyman/University of Calgary)

"That's one of the big questions: When did humans first occupy this land and where did they come from?" he said. "To push those dates back beyond Clovis really opens a lot of doors. I'm really very excited about it because it means that we're looking at the first human occupation in Alberta."

He added that it's an amazing feeling to pick up a prehistoric spear point and to know you are the first person to touch it since the person who made and used it so many thousands of years ago.

"There's a story there," he said. "To me, time disappears when we pick up that projectile point. We're seeing those things as they were laid to rest. It's really a remarkable thing to be involved in."

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Astronaut twin study could provide valuable data for Mars mission

American astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko take off today for a year-long mission aboard the International Space Station. Meanwhile, Kelly's identical twin brother, and former astronaut, Mark Kelly will be monitored on the ground in the first twin study ever done on the effects of long-term space flight.

Kelly and Kornienko begin their marathon mission with a Soyuz rocket launch from Kazakhstan at 3:42 p.m. ET Friday (early Saturday local time). They should arrive at the orbiting outpost six hours later.

This will be the first year-long mission aboard the space station, and a first for the Americans, but not the first in the history of humans in space.

The Russians had several year-long missions in the late 1980s and early 90s, aboard the Russian space station Mir. The record-holder for a continuous stay in space is Valery Polykov, at 437.75 days in 1995.

Sergei Krikalev, who was stranded on Mir when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and then went on to fly on American space shuttles and the International Space Station, has a total accumulated time in space of 803 days.

The Russians laid the groundwork for long duration spaceflight, learning a great deal about the physical and mental health effects of removing oneself from planet Earth for extended periods.

Astronauts Scott Kelly (left) and Mikhail Kornienko will spend a year on the international space station. (Bill Stafford/NASA)

​Cosmonauts experienced a loss of calcium in their bones, a shift of fluids into the upper body, swollen faces, anemia (the loss of red blood cells), and lowered immune systems.

They also faced the mental stress of being isolated, away from family, friends and the great outdoors, for such a long time. 

Adding to that isolation, crew members on Mir communicated with mission control only when the space station passed over Moscow, and, at times of low activity, that would only be for a few minutes, two or three times a day. The rest of the time in orbit, they were completely on their own.

They also had to get along with each other during their mission. Mir was a much smaller space station than the ISS, and usually had a crew of only three. That alone increases the "in your face" effect of seeing the same people, day after day, in a confined space.

During the year-long missions, crew performance began to degrade around eight months. They were slower to do their work, and, as time went on, even became reluctant to do some of it. The astronauts came to a point where the most enjoyable activity was eating, because it was a pleasant pastime that did not require conversation with the others.

Finally, when the Russians returned to Earth after a year in space, they had to readjust to Earth's gravity. They had a very difficult time walking, for example, because of weak muscles and severe dizziness. One cosmonaut told me, "Every part of my body felt heavy, even my eyelids."

Astronaut Scott Kelly (right) and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko are seen here training for their year-long mission in a mockup of the International Space Station. (Photographer: James Blair)

​It is from that earlier experience on Mir that mission planners for the International Space Station decided to restrict occupation to no more than six months. But this new year-long mission will be different from those of the past in several ways. 

First of all, Kelly and Korienko will have plenty of company among  the six-person crew of the space station, which will be changed at least once during their flight.

The space station offers much more room to get away from the others, and it has a 360-degree panoramic window on the Earth, which all crew members find endlessly entertaining.

The pair will have exclusive channels to make private phone calls to their families, along with all the other modern communications devices that were simply not available 30 years ago for Mir missions.

They will also be on a strict exercise regime of two hours every day, to fight off the physical effects of weightlessness.

But, there are still questions to be answered. Since Scott Kelly's identical twin brother Mark will remain on the ground, study of the twins will offer opportunities to look in more detail at the effects of prolonged stays in space on the immune system, digestive tract, vision, and mental health issues.

This is, of course, in preparation for trips to Mars, which will require roughly 500 days for a journey there and back. The technical challenges of keeping a crew well fed and happy in an extreme environment for that long are significant enough. How the crew takes care of themselves is a challenge just as great.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cars are becoming the ultimate snoops, privacy report warns

As our cars get more high-tech and connected, they are increasingly spying on us and sending personal data about us to many different parties — in violation of Canadian privacy laws, a new report warns.

Regulators need to step up and protect the privacy of car users at a time when the range and amount of potentially sensitive — and commercially valuable — data being collected by cars is growing, says a study funded by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and released today by the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association.

'In the frenzy to take advantage of this new technology … automakers and their corporate partners appear to have ignored Canadian data protection laws.'- FIPA report

The report titled "Connected cars: Who is in the driver's seat?" was unveiled at the Vancouver Auto Show.

The group notes that "most, if not all" new cars being sold in North America now have at least some wireless connectivity, and "fully" connected cars are expected to dominate the market in the next few years.

"With connectivity, cars are becoming highly efficient data harvesting machines," says the report, citing a wide variety of data collection systems such as:

• Vehicle performance monitors that transmit information about vehicle health and driver behaviour wirelessly to computers used by car dealers and mechanics.
• Navigation systems that record the vehicle's location and the routes it has taken.
• Telematics systems that collect information on driving behaviour and send it to insurance companies to deliver new "usage-based insurance."
• Infotainment systems that can collect information about personal communication, web browsing data, personal contacts and schedules, and preferences with respect to music and video content.

While those systems offer "undeniable benefits" to car owners and drivers, the data they generate is extremely valuable to insurers, governments and law enforcement agencies, and companies that might be interested in tracking and profiling users for target marketing and other purposes.

"In the frenzy to take advantage of this new technology and keep up with the competition, automakers and their corporate partners appear to have ignored Canadian data protection laws," the report says. In fact, "automakers are failing to meet their legal obligations under almost every principle of data protection law."

An Acura RLX sedan tows another with Honda's virtual tow technology that creates a wireless link between two cars. Systems that enable vehicles to communicate with each other have been developed in recent years and 'fully' connected cars are expected to dominate the market in the next few year. (Rebecca Cook/Reuters)

For example, many service providers required customers who sign up for a service to agree to the use of their personal data not just for delivering the service, but also for marketing, product developing and "business purposes."

That violates Canadian laws that require clear, informed consent for the use of any personal data for secondary purposes such as marketing, the report says.

The authors also raise concerns about the fact that unnecessary data is being collected and kept for an indefinite period of time, putting car users at risk of having their personal data hacked and stolen.

The report recommends that governments bring in data protection regulations that are specific to the connected car industry.

For example, it suggests, there are already limits on the use of data collected by "event data recorders" that collect information about conditions that could precede a crash. New laws should also ban that type of information from being disclosed wirelessly.

"Policy-makers," it said, "have to provide the guidance that the automotive industry desperately needs on how general principles of data protection apply in their sector."

Mark Nantais, president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, said the group looks forward to reviewing the paper in detail and engaging in further discussion.

"CVMA members are fully committed to protecting their customers' privacy and complying with Canadian privacy laws," he added.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Want to visit Mars? This experience may be the closest you ever get

I'm on a spaceship that's just entered orbit around Mars when the lights dim, alarms blare and smoke starts spewing through the cabin. I jump from my workstation, confused and anxious to know what's going on.

"Who has a fire extinguisher?" barks our commander, Martin Fischer, gesturing toward an instrument panel at knee level. "Something just exploded in there."

The lights grow dim, alarms start blaring, and the cabin of the spaceship starts to fill with smoke after the ship is hit by a coronal mass ejection, a blast of plasma from the sun. (Emily Chung/CBC)

OK, so I'm not actually in outer space. I'm on the Voyage to Mars at the Challenger Learning Centre at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto.

It's a space simulator that's unique in Canada and part of the legacy of the Challenger disaster in 1986, one of the biggest tragedies in the history of space exploration. Unlike other Mars simulations for scientists and astronauts, this one provides limited access to the public.

The program is designed to provide would-be astronauts with an educational and entertaining taste of modern space travel in replicas of a NASA mission control room and the inside of a spacecraft.

If you've ever wanted to visit Mars, this is about the closest you can get right now — or might ever get.

While the Mars One Project now says it aims to send humans on one-way trips to the Red Planet by 2027, experts, including former Canadian astronaut Julie Payette, say the technology won't be ready by then.

The world's space agencies currently aim to send astronauts to Mars after 2033, so a real base on Mars won't be built anytime soon. 

Journey to 2076

The crew I've joined is from the Ontario Science Centre's science school, which brings together up to 30 high school students at a time from around the province to complete Grade 12 science and math courses during a semester at the centre.

Our mission is set in the year 2076, when most of my fellow crew-mates will be 60 years old.

CBC journalist Emily Chung operates a robotic arm using two joysticks. Her job is to grasp and examine a trio of solar panels outside the ship to see how badly they have been damaged by impacts from meteoroids. (Courtesy Emily Chung/CBC)

Our mission is to navigate to Mars and replace a crew that has spent the last two years at a base on the Red Planet and is eager to return to Earth.

Each of us is assigned a job, from the "nav" team calculating a course for the spacecraft to a space weather team that keeps tabs on solar storms that could disrupt electronics and communications on board.

I'm assigned to a team operating a trio of robotic arms. My teammates Ellie Badun of Unionville and Eleonore Day of Etobicoke, both 17, are dealing with dangerous "radioactive" and "toxic" compounds. My job is to examine "solar panels" outside the ship to see how badly they've been damaged by meteoroids. 

There are constant interruptions — messages from Mars Mission Control, radiation checks from the medical team and updates about potentially dangerous space weather.

Amid the distractions, using two joysticks to manipulate so many rotating, bending joints and a hand is harder than it looks. I'm frustrated after clumsily dropping all three panels. 

Blast of plasma

This just in...from Mars1:09

I've been embarrassingly unproductive by the time we count down before entering into a rumbling orbit around Mars. 

It's shortly after that when the alarms go off and smoke starts pouring through the ship. A coronal mass ejection — a blast of plasma from the sun — has hit our ship and damaged our electronics.

'What we hoped would not happen has happened,' Flight Commander Martin Fischer tells us after a notification of a solar eruption appears on the computer screen. He advises us to keep an eye on the computers to make sure they're not malfunctioning. (Emily Chung/CBC)

Someone yanks a burned out component from the instrument panel while the communications officer sends a message to Mars Mission Control. There's no response — we can no longer hear them and they can't hear us.

Fortunately, the Mars Mission Control team comes up with a clever solution. A member appears on the video screen, holding up a slip of paper scrawled with the words: "Are you okay?" We scramble to write a response.

We communicate that way until our ship makes a harrowing near crash-landing on Mars (Thanks, Nav Team!) about 15 minutes later. Red lights blink, there's a whirring noise, and we enter the airlock to meet the crew at Mars Mission Control.

Weather report from Mars0:44

Challenger shuttle legacy

The science centre's Challenger Learning Centre is part of a network of 40 educational space simulators created in partnership with NASA by the families of the crew who died when the Challenger space shuttle exploded in 1986. The mission featured a "Teacher in Space" educational component and one crew member was Christa McAuliffe, a high school teacher from Concord, New Hampshire.

​Most of the simulators are in the U.S. The one at the Ontario Science Centre opened in 1992, and was rebuilt about nine years ago. It's hidden behind unmarked doors in a hallway at the back of the centre and isn't open to ordinary visitors.

About 6,000 to 9,000 students and a handful of corporate groups take part in the program each year. The science centre charges $15 per student and a minimum of $62.50 per corporate employee.

The day that I visited, the Challenger Learning Centre debuted an activity in which the crew at Mars Mission Control had to 3D print a custom finger splint using a real 3D printer. The activity was designed by Julielynn Wong. (Emily Chung/CBC)

Some aspects of the simulation are clearly unrealistic — we experience full gravity, the trip doesn't take the better part of a year and there are no communications delays between Earth and Mars. But the details, from the in-ship lighting to the graphics of Mars appearing on our screens, are still impressive.

The simulation does a good job of conveying some aspects of space missions — the emphasis on procedures and communications that are funnelled through one point of contact, and the constant activity, problem solving and teamwork that make up an astronaut's day.

Each mission crew faces different problems and new activities are constantly added to keep the program fresh, says Teressa Black, lead flight director for the centre.

Eleanor Day, 17, conducts research at Mars Mission Control at the Challenger Learning Centre after disembarking the spacecraft from Earth. (Emily Chung/CBC)

 "We try to parallel what's going on in the real space program," she says.

In fact, the day we visited, the program debuted an activity in which the crew at mission control on Mars had to 3D print a custom finger splint using a real 3D printer. Toronto doctor and 3D printing expert Julielynn Wong designed the module for the centre after a 3D printer was sent up to the International Space Station.

But the reality is that Voyage to Mars is more a simulation of space travel today than space travel in 2076. 

When the simulation finally ends with the successful departure of the new Earth-bound crew, everyone applauds loudly and smiles light up their faces.

"That was amazing," says Badun, adding that she felt a real sense of accomplishment when the mission was complete.

Day says she learned a lot about space missions from the experience.

"There's so much organization that goes into it ... And there's so many things that can go wrong."

While we learned some science concepts — about the effects of solar storms and the nature of Mars's moons, the emphasis of the simulation was more on teamwork and problem-solving.

Still, the experience felt impressively real to me. I left feeling I had a better sense of what space missions are like — but that I need to work a lot harder on my robot-operating skills before I'm ready to become a real astronaut.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

NASA spacecraft will visit asteroid and take a big souvenir

NASA is aiming to launch a rocket to an asteroid in five years and grab a boulder off of it — a stepping stone and training mission for an eventual trip sending humans to Mars.

The space agency Wednesday unveiled details of the $1.25 billion US plan to launch a solar-powered unmanned spaceship to an asteroid in December 2020. The ship would spend about a year circling the large space rock and pluck a four-metre-wide boulder off its surface using robotic arms. It would have three to five opportunities to grab the rock, said Robert Lightfoot, NASA's associate administrator.

The smaller rock would be hauled near the moon and parked in orbit around the moon. Using a giant rocket ship and the Orion crew capsule that are still being developed, two astronauts would fly to the smaller rock in 2025 and start exploring. Astronauts aboard Orion would dock with the robotic ship, make spacewalks, climbing around the mini-asteroid to inspect and document, and even grab a piece to return to Earth.

The ship would spend about a year circling the large space rock and pluck a four-metre-wide boulder off its surface using robotic arms. (NASA)

The smaller rock might not even be big enough for the two astronauts to stand on; it would have fit in the cargo bay of the now-retired space shuttles.

The mission will "demonstrate the capabilities we're going to need for further future human missions beyond low Earth orbit and then ultimately to Mars," Lightfoot said.

Lightfoot also identified the leading target. It's a 400-metre wide space rock discovered in 2008 called 2008 EV5, making it somewhat larger than most of the asteroids that circle the sun near Earth. Two other space rocks are being considered, called Itokawa and Bennu.

NASA managers chose this option over another plan that would lasso or use a giant bag to grab an entire asteroid and haul it near the moon. The selected plan is about $100 million more expensive but it was picked by managers in a meeting Tuesday because it would test technologies and techniques "we're going to need when we go to another planetary body," Lightfoot said during a telephone press conference. Those include "soft landing" and grabbing technologies, he said.

A few years ago, the administration proposed sending astronauts to an asteroid and landing on it, but later changed that to bringing the asteroid closer to Earth.

The $1.25 billion price does not include the larger costs of the rockets launching the spaceships to the asteroid and the smaller boulder.

The entire project called ARM for Asteroid Redirect Mission would also test new spacesuits for deep space, as opposed to Earth orbit, and may even help companies look at the idea of mining asteroids for precious metals, said NASA spokesman David Steitz.

Steitz said by getting closer to the large asteroid, the mission will help with "planetary defense" techniques, learning how to nudge a threatening space rock out of harm's way.

Scott Pace, space policy director at George Washington University and a NASA associate administrator in the George W. Bush administration, said the concept in some ways makes sense in terms of training, engineering and cost, but "it still leaves the larger questions: What this leads to and why?"

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

How to pick the right gadget to stream shows and movies to your TV

Want to stream movies and shows from Netflix, YouTube and other entertainment services from the internet straight to your TV?

Canadians can do that with a wide variety of devices ranging from simple plug-in "sticks" such as the $39 Chromecast to advanced video game consoles such as the $450 PlayStation 4. 

Simple plug-in 'sticks' like the $39 Google Chromecast are the cheapest options for streaming shows and movies from the internet to your TV. (Jaime Henry-White/Associated Press)

The gadgets connect to a variety of streaming services – some, such as Netflix and YouTube, are available on all devices. Some, such as Xbox Live, are only available to those using specific technologies.

It's a choice that can get confusing. That's why some people are hiring professionals to make the decision and install the devices for them.

But most devices are actually pretty simple to pick out, buy and install yourself, if you know what questions to ask about them. Let's break down some of the important considerations.

1. What TV shows and movies can you access?

It's not an exaggeration to say you can get Netflix and YouTube anywhere. Regardless of the device you pick, you'll have access to good content through those two apps.

Just about all devices will let you stream Netflix and YouTube to your TV. (Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)

A year or two ago, it may have seemed worthwhile pointing out which device had the better content.

But now, regardless of which service you choose, you'll be able to find The Hunger Games: Mockingjay and other new releases to rent in HD for $5.99. The playing field is relatively even for current movies and TV shows.

On the other hand, back catalogues may be different — certainly, the iTunes store has the longest history of providing content — so it may be worth doing a bit of research if there are older seasons and shows you want to access.

2. How simple is it to set up?

Typically, setup is simple enough that just about anyone can do it.

The smaller "stick" options such as Chromecast are easy: Plug in through your TV's HDMI port and connect to your wireless home internet.

The bigger devices (the Apple TV, Google Nexus Player and Roku 3) look more complex, but they follow the same principles.

You'll need an HDMI cable (not supplied) and you can connect through Wi-Fi. Apple TV and Roku also have ethernet ports for more reliable internet connections.

What follows (account setup, logging into various services, etc.) can get tedious because you'll have to enter information one click of the remote at a time, but it isn't complicated.

Apple, Google and Roku all have customer support online and by phone if you get stuck.

3. Does it work with your other devices?

Are you an Apple or Android aficionado in other areas of your life? In choosing a device, it helps to consider what camp you're in.

The Nexus Player can mirror what's on the screen of your Android phones. Any previous purchases on Google Play can be restored, so your library is transferred to your TV. (Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press)

Consider Google's Nexus Player ($109) versus the Apple TV (newly reduced to $89). The Nexus Player delivers movies, music and TV shows through the Play Store, familiar to users of Google's Android smartphones. Similarly, iPhone users will be familiar with the iTunes Store, which is how the Apple TV provides content.

Both streaming devices can mirror what's on your phone's screen to your TV — iOS devices with the Apple TV, Android phones for the Nexus Player. Any previous purchases on either ecosystem can also be restored, so your library is transferred to your TV.

For those not invested in Google or Apple, the more platform-agnostic Roku 3 ($109) has access to many streaming services, including Google's Play Store, but not the iTunes Store.

As mentioned, Google and Roku also offer smaller, cheaper options in the form of a stick. However, the Chromecast and Roku Streaming Stick don't include a remote and can't be used for gaming.

4. Can you use it to play games?

Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One aren't the only streaming devices that let you play games on your TV.

Both the Roku 3 and the Nexus Player come with a library of casual games made for your TV, from trivia games like You Don't Know Jack to arcade titles like Angry Birds (above).

Both the Roku 3 and the Nexus Player come with a library of casual games made for your TV, from trivia games like You Don't Know Jack to arcade titles like Angry Birds.

Being motion-sensitive, Roku's remote control is more suited for gaming, but the Nexus Player can be used with a special game controller (sold separately for $45).

This may be moot if you're not sold on the concept of casual games on your TV. In that case, the Roku Streaming Stick or Apple TV may be enough.

However, if gaming is important to you, be aware of Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One. Both provide a greater gaming experience and access to movies, music and TV shows through the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. But they are considerably more expensive (PS4 at $450, Xbox One at $350).

5. Other things to think about

A few caveats about the current Apple TV: There's no App Store — only the apps that come pre-loaded onto the device. Also, a new model hasn't been released in two years, meaning it's noticeably slower to respond than Google or Roku's options. Finally, the company's latest announcement of HBO content exclusive to Apple TV for $14.99 won't be available in Canada.

The Nexus Player and Roku 3 remotes offer some highly convenient features. Google's remote has voice search functionality. The Roku 3 remote lets you plug headphones into it, which allows for quiet watching if you don't want to disturb anyone.

Want more specifics? Compare your choices below.

---

Apple TV

(Anand Ram/CBC)

First launched in 2009, the Apple TV was one of the first to provide lots of media content streamed directly to your TV.

Cost of hardware: $89

Average cost of renting an HD movie: $5.99

Netflix and YouTube: Yes

HDMI: Yes (cable sold separately)

Ethernet: Yes

Wireless: Yes

Remote: Yes

Pros:

• iTunes – huge selection of apps, music, movies and TV shows.
• AirPlay – Experience iPhone or iPad content (including photos) on your TV. Mirror your iOS device to the Apple TV.

Cons:

Nexus Player

(Anand Ram/CBC)

Launched last year, Google's Nexus Player is not only for streaming, but gaming and searching, too.

Cost of hardware: $109

Average cost of renting an HD movie: $5.99

Netflix and YouTube: Yes

HDMI: Yes (cable sold separately)

Ethernet: No

Wireless: Yes

Remote: Yes

Pros:

• Play Store — movies, music, TV and games. Eight GB of storage onboard.​
• Remote is voice enabled and can search Google for content.
• Fast interface.

​​Cons:

• Casual gaming on a TV is a strange concept
• Gaming controller sold separately.

Note: Google also offers the Chromecast for $39. It's a dongle that plugs into your TV by HDMI, but there's no remote and no gaming.

Roku 3

(Anand Ram/CBC)

Not tied down to any ecosystem, Roku offers convenient features along with access to many streaming services.

Cost of hardware: $109

Average cost of renting an HD movie: $5.99

Netflix and YouTube: Yes

HDMI: Yes (cable sold separately)

Ethernet: Yes

Wireless: Yes

Remote: Yes

Pros:

• Streaming services include Cineplex, Google Play, Rdio, among hundreds of others.
• Remote has a headphone jack built-in, so you can listen to your TV without bothering anyone else in the room. It's also a motion controller, so gaming has another dimension (similar to the Wii).
• Fast interface.

Cons:

Note: Roku offers several devices, with the 3 being its high-end. The other tiers lose the motion gaming and speed. It also has the Roku Streaming Stick ($59) and is similar to the Chromecast.

Playstation 4

(Sony)

Even if you aren't a gamer, Sony's PlayStation 4 can be used for streaming and also serves as a Blu-ray player.

Cost of hardware: $450

Average cost of renting an HD movie: $5.99

Netflix and YouTube: Yes

HDMI: Yes (cable included)

Ethernet: Yes

Wireless: Yes

Remote: Wireless controller included, media remote sold separately.

Pros:

• PlayStation Network — another big library of apps, games, movies, music and TV shows.
• Blu-ray player.

Cons:

Xbox One

(Microsoft)

The Xbox 360 became more of a media consumption device than a game console. Microsoft's follow-up, the Xbox One is that and more.

Cost of hardware: $399

Average cost of renting an HD movie: $5.99

Netflix and YouTube: Yes

HDMI: Yes (cable included)

Ethernet: Yes

Wireless: Yes

Remote: Wireless controller included, media remote sold separately.

Pros:

• Microsoft has its own library of apps, music, movies, games and TV shows.
• OneGuide — pushes your cable or satellite TV through your Xbox One.
• Kinect — voice activated controls (sold separately).
• Blu-ray player.

Cons:

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More