Content and news by Rob Williams

As if you really needed another reason to head down to a local Starbucks! This is one of the better ones, though. Starbucks is planning to offer 50,000,000 free iTunes songs to their customers between October 2 and November 7. This will allow anyone with an iPhone or iPod touch to log onto the WiFi music store and download tracks that are playing at the store, while you wait for your Octo-shot Venti Machiatto. Of course, the available music will be limited, with artists including Joss Stone, John Mayer, Dave Matthews and others.

This little bit of funness is free (free is always fun), and will allow anyone with an iPhone or iTouch that comes within range of the wi-fi music store to get access to whatever music Starbucks is currently playing. They’ll also be able to see the previous 10 songs. The wi-fi Music Stores should be available to nearly all Starbucks locations by 2009.

Source: Mashable

Are you unhappy with Windows Vista? I don’t speak for everyone, but I certainly am. It seems that if you are the owner of either Vista Business or Vista Ultimate, you have the right to downgrade to Windows XP as per the official license. The process of this seems to go through your OEM and the article at DailyTech doesn’t delve much into the actual process, but it -is- possible. If you bought a PC with either of those Vista installations installed and are unhappy, it might be worth your time to investigate further, or simply contact your OEM.

As a result of the complaints from customers and businesses regarding Vista, Microsoft recently began offering an “XP downgrade” option for OEMs. The decision to downgrade a Vista installation is fully supported by Microsoft, but it’s up to each individual OEM to provide the option to its customers. Unfortunately, the option only exists for Vista Business and Vista Ultimate installations – Vista Home Basic and Vista Home Premium users are out of luck.

Source: DailyTech

When I first noticed an e-mail entitled, “Apple today released the following statement:”, I was quite sure I knew what information it was going to include, and lo and behold, my predictions were correct. In what may be the smallest Apple press release we’ve seen, they stress that unlocking your iPhone will be a bad idea and mention that future updates will potentially render the phone useless.

An update later this week will be adding the iTunes WiFi Music Store that was first seen with the iPod touch, and once deployed, your unlocked phone may no longer be unlocked. Whether or not it would be an easy fix to “re-hack” or not, is yet to be seen. You can read the entire press release below.

CUPERTINO, Calif., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple has discovered that many of the unauthorized iPhone unlocking programs available on the Internet cause irreparable damage to the iPhone’s software, which will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed. Apple plans to release the next iPhone software update, containing many new features including the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store (www.itunes.com), later this week. Apple strongly discourages users from installing unauthorized unlocking programs on their iPhones. Users who make unauthorized modifications to the software on their iPhone violate their iPhone software license agreement and void their warranty. The permanent inability to use an iPhone due to installing unlocking software is not covered under the iPhone’s warranty.

A posting at AutoBlog really caught my eye tonight, because I posted something similar in our forums a few months ago. As hard as it is to believe, the Canadian dollar is now worth more than the US dollar… something that has not happened in quite some time. Impressive, since the rate was 15% in the USD’s favor just earlier this year.

Although such a thing benefits Canadians going to the US, it doesn’t benefit them when it comes to buying a car. As always, buying a car in Canada carries a huge premium, even before taxes are included in the equation. For example, a Ford Taurus retails for $25,000 in the US, while Canucks are suckered into $33,000CAN. That’s a small example though. Higher-end cars have even wider gaps, from +10% onward. Will Canuck car prices ever hit par with American prices? Being a Canadian.. I am hoping so.

Even though the two currencies are at parity, the difference in the prices of various cars ranges from $7,000 to $10,000. An Audi A4 Quattro with the turbo 2.0-liter is $32,000 in the US, but it’ll set you back more than $40,000 in Canada. A $25,095 Taurus here will run you $33,399 in Canada. The discrepancy when it comes to Volvo is highest, with a 38-percent markup that equates to an $11,000 premium if you buy in Canada.

Source: AutoBlog

Halo 3. Chances are that you are looking forward to it, or really looking forward to it. For those of you fitting into either category, it looks like your long wait to play the game will be well-rewarded. According to every single review on the web thus far, the game is an amazing experience that shouldn’t be missed. Though I pre-ordered a copy of the game, it pains me in knowing I will have to wait until next week to play it due to other things that need to be taken care of.

Aside from my whining, I am betting that you want to read a few reviews before making that midnight launch. Here are a few that I stumbled on so far. The quote below is from TeamXbox’s review.

• 1UP (10/10)
• Ars Technica
• EuroGamer (10/10)
• Gamer 2.0 (8.8/10)
• GameSpot (9.5/10)
• GameSpy (5/5)
• IGN.com (9.5/10)
• Kotaku
• Pro-G (10/10)
• Shacknews
• TeamXbox (9.7/10)
• Worthplaying (9.6/10)

The single-player campaign and storyline are both very strong, but it’s Forge and the Saved Films features that will likely go down in history as Bungie’s crowning achievements. They’ve basically taken everything great about the series and improved upon it in every way, then added some amazing new features that we’ll be using for years to come. The fight may be finished, but this amazing experience is never going to end.

When thinking of Best Western, a certain cool factor might not immediately come to mind. However, a recently renovated hotel in Japantown, San Francisco is looking to change that. If you are a fan of Japanese culture, then this is the hotel you will want to check out. Anime murals are plastered over many walls, suites include a PS3 and Wii while all rooms include an LCD TV, iPod docking station and free Wi-Fi.

The only question I have to ask is: How did I overlook this great looking hotel in preparation for last weeks IDF and instead booked a hotel just a block away?!

The Best Western brand typically evokes two thoughts: boring and budget. But not in Japantown. The former Best Western Miyako Inn opened its newly etched glass doors in June as the Best Western Hotel Tomo, a haven for Japanese culture fanatics and videogame lovers. It’s anything but boring or budget.

Source: Wired.com

Somewhat related to our last news story, The Inquirer is reporting that ASUS’ Eee PC should be available next month, at an estimated $239 for the smallest model, which would include 2GB of flash memory, 256MB of ram and a 2-cell battery. While the OLPC is destined to be a big hit overseas, the Eee has huge interest on these shores, especially from our own Greg King. The unit looks great, is small enough to be comfortable for a child and has internet capabilities. The price-point makes the entire deal just that much sweeter.

The lightweight models shown off at IDF were expected earlier than October – the bill of materials very much depends on configurations. While the cheapest seven inch screen now costs $40, the higher resolution screens will cost very much more. Battery life for four cells models is a meagre three hours.

Source: The Inquirer

If you thought that the OLPC laptop was available for third-world Countries only, you and I were both wrong. If you are keen on having your own unit, you can pick one up later this year for $399. Yes, this is double what they are supposed to cost, but here’s where things get interesting. If you purchase one, then another one gets “donated” to a child in the developing world. Sadly, it’s not actually considered a donation, which means it’s not tax deductible, but hopefully the organizers will change that soon.

The price is $399, and includes two laptops, one of which will be given to a child in the developing world. I’ve just signed up to get one — I just wish that this was structured as a donation to the Foundation, since I think they’d sell a ton of these if the purchasers could get a tax-receipt for them just before the tax year closes.

Source: BoingBoing

During a closed-door session demonstration of Skulltrail and 45nm processors, we saw first-hand what 45nm offerings will deliver when compared to current products. We walk away with assurance that Skulltrail is extreme and also that SSE4 can make a huge impact in multi-media tasks.

Intel believes high-end gamers will be in a state of euphoria once their Skulltrail platform hits the market later this year. How does dual Quad-Cores, SLI 8800 Ultra’s and 4GB+ of RAM sound?

We first found out just last weekend that Intel acquired Dublin-based Havok, best known for their middleware physics engine which goes by the same name. At the time however, financials were not known. According to CNet, the deal was around the $110 million mark. Whether or not it was higher or lower, it’s hard to disagree that it was a very wise purchase, one that Intel will truly reap the benefits for once Nahalem and Larabee hits. Did Intel really need another advantage over the competition? They certainly added a new one to their list this past week.

Financial terms of the deal were not initially disclosed. However, Reuters reported that Irish venture capital firm TVC Holdings estimated the deal’s value at about $110 million. On Monday, TVC agreed to sell its 27 percent stake in Havok for about $21 million.

Source: News.com

I’ve been a fan of Nine Inch Nails for quite a few years now for a few different reasons. One, they manage to continuously create great music that’s not simply rehashed. They try to keep things unique. It’s not so much of a surprise, since group leader Trent Reznor is a unique individual himself, and here’s why. According to TechAmok, he was recently recorded at a recent concert urging fans to steal their music so that the RIAA would get it through their heads that they are ridiculous and doing everything wrong.

As much as I love Reznor’s advice, it’s obvious that “Reznor told me to.” is not going to keep you out of jail. Hopefully something good can come out of it from his actions alone, without fans going through drastic measures.

His contract with Universal is almost up (only one more album to go, which is reportedly coming soon), I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do as an independent. If he does start releasing his albums online in FLAC or whatnot for $5, I’ll be buying every single one, just to support the principle. Maybe he’ll make some “NIN – Now RIAA free!” T-shirts and sell them himself too.

Source: TechAmok

We all knew the Team Fortress 2 was coming this week, at least in beta form. It’s now available to all those who’ve pre-ordered the Orange Box, which includes HL2 and both Episode’s and also Portal and of course, TF2. The game will be officially released in the second week of October, but now’s your chance to jump on in for an early peek, and even potentially discover a few bugs along the way.

After what appears to have been a few hiccups, the Team Fortress 2 beta is now available to play through Steam. Or rather, it’s available if you pre-ordered the Orange Box through the PC download service. Otherwise, you’re out of luck. “No dice,” in the parlance of Damon Runyon-esque gangster culture.

Source: Joystiq

If you are in the market for a new phone but are looking for a 3G model and enjoy waiting, Apple will be releasing the iPhone equipped with the technology in 2008, although no set date is mentioned. It could be January, it could be December, so you might be waiting far longer than you’d like to.

And in other news, Steve Jobs apparently doesn’t like the idea of iPhone unlocking. Who knew? He plans to actively fight against any companies that assist in helping you unlock the phone. If unlocking is in your plans, it might be good to have lots of patience and plan to do a lot of tweaking. If Jobs has his way, updates could wipe out the gains from unlocking with each. Me? I’ll just stick to a phone that I’m confident in knowing I won’t have to hack every other day.

As with most security measures, it will be a back and forth relationship between those that will manage to unlock the iPhone, and Apple. With the emergence of companies that are offering iPhone hacks that let you tap into another SIM card, stopping these hacks has become an issue that Apple has needed to address as it gears up to launch the iPhone in Europe.

Source: Mashable! (3G iPhone), Mashable! (Jobs Against Unlocking)

Sure, your D-SLR was superb when you first got it, but let’s face it, you want a replacement. You also want more mega-pixels, but of course you don’t need them. That doesn’t matter though. What does matter is that Hasselblad just updated their H3D D-SLR camera, capable of writing to both Compact Flash and also regular 35mm film. It features a 39MP 48x36mm sensor and features a large 3″ LCD screen. The II is quite similar to the original H3D, but is has some usual refinements that would warrant a purchase over the older model. If you have $30,000 to spare, you can be the envy of all your friends. Until you drop it, of course.

A complete DSLR that is much more than the sum of its parts, the H3D II is peerless in terms of its combined image quality and flexibility. While retaining its full digital lens line and the choice of 22, 31 or 39 megapixel capture units using CCD image sensors up to 48×36 mm – the largest currently available and more than twice the size of even the largest 35mm camera sensors – the Hasselblad H3D II now has a large, bright 3” display, which affords both improved viewing of captured images and lower power consumption.

Source: LetsGoDigital

NetDevil’s FPS MMO game Warmonger will be released on October 16th, and I have to say my interest is piqued. I personally first learned about this game back at CES this past January from AGEIA, as their PhysX card is supposed to make the gameplay absolutely stellar. Will this be the case? Hard to say, but I’m sure willing to find out. Given that Intel has recently acquired Havok, AGEIA really, really needs a killer app.. and fast, if they wish to have a chance at success for their product.

Crecente got a chance to play Warmonger, Operation: Downtown Destruction back in June at NetDevil’s anniversary party, and they pretty much had to pry him away from the computer. PC gamers will soon get a chance to see if they experience similar ass-stickiness as NetDevil announces plans to release the game via digital download on October 16th for the low, low price of completely free. I’ve yet to see any mention of PC requirements, but from what Brian wrote back in June the Ageia PhysX card will not be one of them.

Source: Kotaku

Paul Otellini opened up the Fall IDF in San Francisco with a keynote focusing on all upcoming technologies including the 65nm to 45nm process, Penryn and Nehalem, power efficiencies, WiMAX, Havok benefits and more.

We posted yesterday about a rumor that AMD was planning to release a tri-core processor. Well, it sure didn’t take long for it to become fact, as AMD issued a press release yesterday afternoon. The Phenom processor features similar specs as other Dual-Core/Quad-Core models… the primary difference is the core-count. The question still is… why? What market is this intended for? Regardless, it will be interesting to see how these take off once released. You can read the full press release below.

Don’t expect any miracles from this driver just yet. At this point, the RadeonHD driver is really targeted for developers and those wanting to use the experimental driver whether it is due to problems using the fglrx driver on the system or just wishing to test out the driver to see if it works for you. As long as AMD sticks to their word on delivering the rest of their documentation, there will not be too much (if any) reverse engineering that needs to take place for the R500 and R600 series.

Source: AMD Press Release

AMD has finally provided the open-source community with GPU specifications and have been partnering with Novell on an open-source display driver. If you are a developer and are interested in chacking the code, it’s readily available. For the end-user with R600-based GPUs, you can download the driver and give it a go. Just don’t expect extreme performance, as it’s still very much a work in progress.

Don’t expect any miracles from this driver just yet. At this point, the RadeonHD driver is really targeted for developers and those wanting to use the experimental driver whether it is due to problems using the fglrx driver on the system or just wishing to test out the driver to see if it works for you. As long as AMD sticks to their word on delivering the rest of their documentation, there will not be too much (if any) reverse engineering that needs to take place for the R500 and R600 series.

Source: Phoronix

Who couldn’t possibly be impressed with the almighty iPhone? Well, the competition of course. CrunchGear queried a few major cell phone manufacturers to get their thoughts on the iPhone and of course, you can imagine many of the responses. Some are hard to disagree with, but others are obvious churned-out responses by PR.

In other iPhone news, UK cellular provider O2 has paid dearly to have exclusive iPhone rights, paying Apple a staggering 40% for all revenues. I still have to ask, where is Canada’s iPhone?

According to The Guardian, Apple will rake in as much as 40 percent of the revenues generated by O2 customers using the iPhone. This is in addition to the commission and revenue sharing imposed by O2’s relationship with Carphone Warehouse. Carphone Warehouse will be the sole retailer for O2-based iPhones in the UK.

Source: CrunchGear (Competition iPhone Comments), DailyTech (iPhone O2 Deal)