Winnipeg Free Press

What a week to get hammered by a rampaging cold virus.

First, I’m laid up the morning that the iPhone-in-Canada announcement was made by Uncle Ted. I was thrilled but could only muster a weak ‘woo’ as I read the bulletin on my BlackBerry, as I was too fatigued to move from the couch.

So, Ted’s a little short on details… you know, nothing about flat-rate all-in-one plans, actual timeline, cost in Canada. These minor aspects will allegedly be confirmed in the weeks ahead.

If they really want to put a knee in the nads of the competition, they’ll do the $99 flat rate for everything plan popular in the US. I’d spend $400 on a phone if I could get the kind of functionality that the iPhone offers at a known price. I will not, however, if I have to pay upwards of $1,000 on my monthly bill.

Speculation says June or July for the official launch. Stay tuned…

The next news item to put geeks in a tizzy was the first day of sales for the Grand Theft Auto IV video game.

To get a sense of the epic nature of this release, check out the first trailer:

It’s deep, layered, free-wheeling and engrossing. Yes, it has more parental warnings than the entire gangsta rap section at your local music store, but the plot density and gameplay will surely set a lofty standard.

Once the PS3 60 GB arrives from the land of eBay, I’ll put in much overtime to research the game’s inner workings and report back here.

Everything is going organic these days, including the latest innovation in television technology.

Sony recently began selling their organic light emitting diode (OLED) TVs to much excitement and twittering in the videophile community.

I’ll let Sony’s writers boil down the technology for you:

Sony’s OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) TV, the XEL-1, is truly the next big thing in television technology. It boasts a 3 millimeter thin panel and offers unparalleled picture quality with amazing contrast, outstanding brightness, exceptional colour reproduction, and a rapid response time. It delivers astounding performance in all the key picture quality categories. OLED technology can completely turn off pixels when reproducing black, resulting in more outstanding dark scene detail and a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. OLED also creates unmatched colour expression and detail and enables rapid response times for smooth and natural reproduction of fast moving images like those found in sports and action movies. The XEL-1 features the latest connectivity options including two HDMI™ inputs, a digital tuner, and a Memory Stick® media slot for viewing high-resolution photos.

Only the geekiest of geeks will get excited by talk of 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and “blacker blacks.” And let’s be realistic here… this first iteration is an 11-inch screen, half the resolution of true High Definition and is selling for $2,500.

If you spend $2,500 for an 11-inch TV you’re much more of a geek than I.

Speaking of geekier geeks, here’s one of my favourites. Wil Wheaton, one of the original tech/geek bloggers and star of Stand By Me sharing his admiration for the emerging technology.

The funniest line? “Sony has developed the Jessica Alba of televisions.”

The side view gives you some idea of how insanely thin this thing is. It reminds me of the first commercial for Apple’s new Twiggy-esque laptop.

My dream machine is a little less bleeding edge, but still sexy and somewhat expensive. And yes, it is also a Sony.

I’m enamoured with the 52-inch XBR LCD. It’s the best-reviewed TV in its class and looks marvellous.

Hopefully, by the time we’re ready to purchase our next TV, the XBR will come down in price thanks to the OLED technology hitting critical mass.

I’ve had visions of marathon Rock Band parties being played on the XBR for so long that it’s like watching Simpsons reruns. I know exactly how each episode will play out yet I still look forward to watching them.

How about you? What kind of technology are you lusting after? Are you itching for a Canadian retailer to support the iPhone and for wireless data packages to stabilize? Are you a Wii-er?

Let me know.

I was saddened to read about the death of Cambodian journalist Dith Pran from cancer.

Pran’s work with New York Times journalist Sydney Schanberg during the Vietnam War that was chronicled in my favourite movie of all time - The Killing Fields - was what initially inspired me to consider journalism as a career.

I watched the movie in the old Convention Centre cinema in 1984, long before it was converted to a meeting space. I was there with a football teammate, who shared an interest in political studies. Picture these two macho, 16-year-old football playing dudes sobbing, and you’ll understand the impact it had.

The story of his commitment to the pursuit of truth in the face of unspeakable personal danger was inspiring. The debate over the decision to stay behind with Schanberg even though the Khmer Rouge was killing hundreds of thousands of Cambodians was the touch point for many discussions among my journalism friends in later years. Pran was forced into a labour camp and somehow survived several brushes with death and a courageous escape, only to die from pancreatic cancer all these years later.

I once hosted a movie club event on this movie and the central debate was, “Did Schanberg betray Pran by pressuring him to stay to cover the war?” Much lively debate ensued that night.

Spoiler alert: If you haven’t seen the movie and do not wish to see the ending, skip this next clip. If you have seen the movie and want to remember this unforgettable scene, click away. I think it provides the answer to my movie club question.

An interesting side note… the actor who played Pran in the movie, Haing S. Nor, was murdered in L.A. in 1996 by three members of the “Oriental Lazy Boyz” street gang. There was speculation that it was a Khmer Rouge sponsored hit, but that was never proven.

Nor won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar that year, and Sam Waterston’s Oscar-nominated work playing Schanberg in the movie was also stunning. Yes, you young whipper-snappers, Waterston was in something before Law and Order.

I honestly don’t think that in the convening 24 years a drama has nailed me in the kisser like this one did.

If you’re like me and you occasionally wonder how geeky/nerdy you really are, there’s now an official test…

I scored very high… luckily I’m already married, or this would be a badge of shame and not honour.

Although, my wife may see that in reverse.

To test your dweebosity, click on the ‘click here to find out’ link above and to the left. Of course, if you needed that instruction, you’re probably not a geek.

The geeks are saying “you shouldn’t have ‘click here’ anywhere on a website” as it shows functionality flaws with your design.

To them I say, “I’d pwn you in World of Warcraft, if I didn’t think that game was so 2007.”

Thanks to the magic of Google and my own, caffiene-infused brain, here’s a carefully edited list of ways to know if you might be a geek, if the digital quiz fails to prove it once and for all.

First, my own submissions:

• You’ve uttered the phrase, “that looks pixellated.”
• You’ve kept stats from your Sega Hockey league, in a binder, 10 years after the league ended.
• Further, you kept stats in your table hockey league.
• Further still, you played in a table hockey league.
• You took the day off from school to watch a solar eclipse, and actually watched the eclipse.
• Your favourite South Park episodes are the World of Warcraft and Guitar Hero satires.
• You had/have a subscription to PC Gamer.
• You know what the ’sock mod’ is for Rock Band.
• You’ve used the [rant][/rant] tags in an e-mail.
• You’ve said all along that the next great innovation in computing will see the end of the keyboard and mouse.

Next, gathered from Google searches:

• You get sudden attacks of bittersweet nostalgic feelings when thinking about your long-lost old Commodore 64, Sinclair ZX-81, TRS-80, and use large amounts of money/time trying to track one down. (For me it was the Atari 130XE… Track and Field was totally mint!)
• You look at a movie trailer and think, “I have that font.”
• You get depressed when you get less than 10 e-mails a day.
• You start getting paranoid you aren’t getting all your e-mail.
• You design detailed floorplans before moving all of your furniture around.
• If anyone has said to you: “You are Jhayden?!?! I see you on the Vax all the time!” (Insert the appropirate substitutions, as appropriate.)
• If you paid $6,000 for your computer and $500 for your car.
• Everyone in the neighborhood brings you (to) their computers to figure out what is wrong.
• You can hold detailed technical conversations in a second language.
• You arrange to get e-mail access no matter where you go.
• You hear the word “Scuzzy” and the first thing you think of is not an adjective.
• You get REALLY excited when people from countries with limited access to the ‘net are frequent visitors to your pages.
• You write web pages about your web pages.
• You do your best work after 11 p.m.
• You work in a building where you need a badge to move between floors.
• You head straight past People and the always entertaining Weekly World News for this month’s Computer Shopper. (For me, it’s Wired, Geek, Frank and Playstation.)
• You froth at the mouth when someone talks about the “Information Superhighway.” Or even better, they bring up that “series of tubes” line like it’s new.
• You organize your CDs, so the tops all face upward, alphabetically, or by record label (If you do more than one of these, you are an Anal-Retentive Geek).
• You plot to get your grandmother on e-mail.

Feel free to send any that I’ve missed.

It’s been difficult to find something new to watch on TV this year thanks to the writers’ strike, so I’m delving into unique realms for entertainment.

When I’ve carpel tunnelled my wrists after four hours of Guitar Hero 2 on Hard, I look to more relaxing ways to distract my over-active geek brain.

I found a gem tonight that I had to tell you about.

It was on HD Net. It’s a program called In Focus and the episode was Over Beautiful British Columbia.

You will be taken on a stunning, high-definition helicopter journey over B.C. Thrill to sites of mountains, glaciers, ocean vistas… millions of birds flying over sea swells… all to a Dolby Digital soundtrack of classical music, original pop songs and well-written commentary.

While this episode was recorded in 1996, it is technically awesome. The visuals are crisp and will showcase your HDTV equipment as a reference work.

If you’re interested in watching it, be sure to check out HD Net at 9 a.m. Central Daylight Time on Friday - or set your PVR if you are so equipped. For other showtimes, check out the schedule on the HD Net website.

I found it perfect viewing to wind down after a high-energy day.

Anyone who has Facebooked me will know I’ve become consumed by all things Rock Band.

After playing for seven hours straight in my first exposure to this brilliant game, I’ve been looking forward to playing again at every opportunity.

To summarize, you can use three instruments (guitar, bass, drums) as well as vocals to reproduce some of the best rock songs ever recorded. The Fender Strat knock-off guitar is very well designed, as is the special drum kit. The microphone is quite professional as well. I’m amazed at the level of quality of the components overall, given the $159 average price tag for the system.

Game play is straight forward: On all instruments, you match the songs by timing your playing with coloured patterns on the screen representing notes or percussion elements, depending on your instrument. You can choose difficulty level, which is a great way to progress and grow and keep things interesting.

One of the big questions for me? “Will I be inclined to sing in front of my friends without liquid courage?” Thanks to a brilliant idea from game maker EA, you can control the volume of the mic with the settings so people either hear you at full voice over the speakers, or they only hear the guide vocal that comes with the track. So, fear not, shower singers.

The most engaging instrument for me is the drum kit. Even on medium, it can be very challenging to coordinate the snare, ride cymbal, tom, crash cymbal and kick pedal without getting overwhelmed. It’s a tremendously accurate simulation of real drumming, as this video clip proves. Recreating Rush drummer Neil Peart’s intricate patterns on expert to earn five stars? No problem for this dude…

Unlike the games of my youth, where the most physical aspect was jumping up and throwing the controller against the wall because you lost your last life in a first-person shooter, you will get a workout in this game. To really get into the guitar or vocals, it’s critical to stand and move around while you play. Obviously, the drumming can get very physical as well.

You will surprise yourself. I discovered, to great shock, that I have tremendous pitch (if limited vocal range). I nailed Radiohead’s Creep on medium, scoring 100 per cent. Yes, I even went falsetto during the finale…

The most rewarding aspect of the game is the communal vibe you get when you play with friends at a party. We had six people rotating through the instruments and songs and we were rooting for each other and cheering new progress and strong performances.

To think I was thrilled by Telestar and Electronic Quarterback not that many years ago.

You may find it hard to believe, but I actually think I’ve had enough of curling for a while.

After covering every draw of the Brier with real-time updates, spanning eight days and nights, I am ready for a break.

Sure, we had an incredible time documenting the trials and tribulations involving John Morris’s sweaty palms and boney knees, white powder eminating from the ventilation systems at the MTS Centre and Kevin Martin’s pin-perfect draw weight.

But those 14-hour days took their toll. I drank more Tim Horton’s coffee during that eight-day span than Shorty Jenkins in his entire career. I subsisted on Timbits and popcorn, which left me feeling a bit like that Supersize Me dude.

What did we learn from this first foray into real-time event coverage? People love it… they love getting results as they happen, they love video highlights posted within minutes of the last rock thrown, and they love being able to access this information from their local news service.

We also learned that we’ll need more people rotating into the real-time shift, as I started hallucinating towards the end.

“Hey, is that snow falling from the ceiling? It’s so pretty!”

“Is that Kevin Martin and Glenn Howard missing hit-and-rollout attempts over and over?”

OK, I wasn’t seeing things, but you can’t blame me for thinking so.

Further, my club team got bounced from the semi of the Granite club championship last night by Bob Sigurdson… the same team that bounces me from all meaningful games over my entire competitive curling career.

So, I turn my attention to finding cool things to add to our sites, and ways to enrich content for you.

We have many things in the hopper and will reveal all in time.

Also, I promise to blog more often.

And now for something completely different: The live studio recording from my favourite live artist’s new single.

Yes, yes, my bad for taking a full week to blog again.

We’ve been swimming in an ocean of change over the past seven days. It’s been at once exhilerating and challenging.

The good news is much progress has been made in our Brier web development work. In fact, I’m working inside the beta of our Brier landing page and the scoring system as we speak.

I feel like a giddy parent at a child’s piano recital… That based on what I’ve witnessed at recitals, with more cameras clicking away or rolling than on the Academy Awards red carpet.

Speaking of red, the bright-red ice-breaker, The Amundsen, is currently host to our own Bartley Kives and Wayne Glowacki. Our intrepid duo are capturing stunning visuals and words as they report on the science of climate change. While their work in our print edition is exceptional, the added content in the form of slideshows and video on the web should win awards.

Expect more in-depth web content upon their return to Winnipeg in a few weeks.

Speaking of red once again, but this time blood red… our serial fiction Love Me To Death continues to generate discussion. Watch for the exciting conclusion in Saturday’s paper, and join in the discussion on the forum.

Winnipeg landmarks and buildings have been featured front and centre within the narrative, bringing added intrigue to the ebb and flow of the plot.

Finally, I had to share this incredible You Tube video with you. I received it as I usually do, virally through e-mail. It’s one of the few “forwards” that I’ve bookmarked and watched multiple times.

What would the reaction be if this happened in Winnipeg? What would you do?

While you were going about your daily routines, we here at the Free Press have been diligently working on behind-the-server development to further enhance your surfing pleasure.

Today’s primary additions… The rollout of our new story page template and the return of the date stamp on the main and story pages.

Thanks to your many responses, we have brought back the date stamp so you know exactly when our content was last updated.

The big news this week is the new story page template. It is much cleaner and features author, time and date codes, print and e-mail functions and a “bread crumb” feature which tells you the path you took to get to that page. We think you’ll find these changes make it much easier to navigate through our site.

Let me know if you have any problems and we will further tweak our code.

Brier countdown is on

We are also researching and developing web processes and functions in anticipation of our comprehensive web-based Brier coverage set for March 8 to 16 here in Winnipeg at the MTS Centre.

Local legend Kerry Burtnyk and his team are busy practicing while we, too, fine tune our web-wizardry so we can bring you real-time, end-to-end coverage throughout the event.

On top of our regular roster of award-winning writers, my keister will also be parked at the arena for the duration. Joining me will be multimedia editor Tyler Walsh to ensure our videos and slideshows are posted quickly.

You will be able to access up-to-the-minute updates online and get the full story with depth and context in our print edition the next day.

We’ll be your one stop Brier shop.

If you are on our site today that means you have had a chance to try on our new look main page.

We worked very hard so you won’t have to… find what you’re looking for that is.

Our development team de-cluttered the layout, breathed white space into the design, and brought a more functional multimedia tool to life.

You’ll notice all of our active promotions and contests are collected into the new marketing slideshow on the right side of the page. This is a scrollable slideshow that you can control, and you can click on any of the images to go to that content page.

We also grew the main photo space to allow our photographers to make a bigger impact with their art, and to present a more dynamic first impression.

Back to the multimedia tool… you can now scroll through the most recent videos or slideshows added to our multimedia page by viewing thumbnails, and you can use the scroll buttons to scan our selections. Thanks to our new multimedia editor, Tyler Walsh, you will see more dynamic video content flowing into your computers in the days and weeks ahead.

Like with all web updates, I ask you to send your comments and bugs to me so we can make your time on the site as enjoyable and efficient as possible.

On to today’s diversion…

Having played Guitar Hero for a couple of months now, I’m always intrigued when I find others who enjoy the game. In fact, I played with my wife and two other couples last weekend, and, thanks in part to Heineken, I managed to seriously rock out and look cool doing so.

As cool as I may have thought I was, I pale in comparison to Corey, 2 1/2, who does a nasty rendition of Warrant’s “Cherry Pie” in this You Tube clip. Once you get past the fact that a two-year-old boy is performing one of the more lewd classic rock songs, you will be amazed. He’s nailing the blue notes!