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Uber reaches its last major city in North America
Uber has been available in every major North American city for a while, but not Vancouver, British Columbia -- the city has refused to bow to pressure and even used undercover agents to make sure companies weren't flouting the law. However, even that last holdout has changed its ways. The province's Passenger Transportation Board has cleared Uber and its rival Lyft to operate in Vancouver, giving you two more options when you need a ride home from the Canucks game. Uber and Lyft were both quick to seize the opportunity, making service available as of January 24th.
Canadian province will prohibit sale of gas-powered cars by 2040
British Columbia has just passed the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act (ZEVA) into law, and it could transform the Canadian province's roads in the coming years. Under the new rules, 10 percent of all light-duty cars and trucks sold in BC by 2025 must be emission-free (electric, plug-in hybrid electric or hydrogen fuel cell) vehicles. By the time 2040 rolls around, the province will completely prohibit the sale of gas-powered vehicles -- that is, if the law's terms don't change within the next 30 years.
Namco Bandai opening Vancouver, Singapore offices in June
Namco Bandai Studios Vancouver Inc. will open its doors to the ever-growing Canadian gaming development scene this June, British Columbia's Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training has announced. The studio will develop "online social games," though nothing else is known regarding the studio's expected output beyond that broad descriptor.The province "provided significant assistance" to Namco Bandai, with government programs such as the "Major Investment Office hosting program" playing an "instrumental" role in bringing Namco Bandai to British Columbia, the announcement said. Meanwhile, a second, unnamed new studio will open in Singapore this June, though the release did not specify what sort of development it will focus on. We're going to go way, way far out on a limb and guess that it'll be called "Namco Bandai Studios Singapore Inc."
Vancouver's troubled game industry examined
While Montreal and Toronto experience an explosion in game development companies and jobs, thanks to tax breaks (and a successful and growing indie scene), the scene in Vancouver is less encouraging, with layoffs at Microsoft, Radical, EA, and more.CTV summarizes the recent layoffs and company closures in the area in this video report, also speaking with BC minister of community, sport, and culture Bill Bennett to determine if a solution is forthcoming. "It's not an easy decision at a time when the province is trying to balance its budget," Bennett said. "Apparently Quebec and Ontario don't worry as much about that."You can watch it or read the transcript on CTV's site.
Microsoft axes Flight development, cuts 35 jobs at Vancouver games studio
Microsoft is laying off staff at its Vancouver studio after it halted development on Flight and "Project Columbia," a Kinect-based virtual storybook for children. A representative speaking to Joystiq said that the 35 people affected would receive help to find new roles within the company, and that it remains invested in the city's industry. In a statement to Kotaku, included after the break, it added that it would continue to support the free title, which was itself a revival of the doomed MS Flight Simulator, and that it would remain available for download.
Canon EOS 1000D washes ashore in BC, Canada, SD card reveals it was lost at sea for over a year (update)
What you're looking at was once a fully functional Canon EOS 1000D, now merely a relic of the sea (the Pacific Ocean, to be exact), which was recently posted on Google+. User Marcus Thompson, found the DSLR washed up near a wharf while on a diving job in Deep Bay British Columbia, Canada and decided to take it home to find out what could be salvaged. After removing and cleaning the SanDisk Extreme III SD card inside of it, he was successfully able to recover about 50 photos with EXIF data from August 2010, showcasing what's described to be a firefighter and his family on vacation. While he hasn't located the owner of the shooter turned coffee table decoration just yet, Marcus is currently asking the "Google+ hive mind" to help get the two reunited. If you're from BC area and want to help out -- or just curious to see this DSLR from more angles -- you'll find some pictures from the SD card and more information about the camera at the source link below. Update (5:00PM): The original Google+ post was updated within the last hour, noting that the owner of the camera has indeed been identified!
Phone Oximeter saves lives, puts Journey's lawyers on red alert (video)
We'll be honest with you, we don't know a lot about marketing healthcare devices to everyday people, so perhaps posting a goofy YouTube video with some re-written classic rock songs is standard practice in the industry. Whatever the case, the University of British Columbia's Electrical & Computer Engineering in Medicine team managed to bring its Phone Oximeter to our attention, and all said, this could be a handy little device for monitoring vitals outside a hospital setting. The meter hooks up to a smartphone -- an iPhone for trials, but we're told it works with Android, Windows, and others -- displaying the wearer's blood oxygen level and heart and respiratory rates, and transmitting the readings to the hospital. The department has already done some field testing with the system, trying it out at the Vancouver General Hospital and bringing it to Uganda, where low cost medical devices and Journey spoofs are in high demand. Video probably only meant for its creators' friends and family after the break. [Thanks, Walter]
Telus TV nets Super Channel stations in Alberta / BC, Canada
Check it, Western Canada -- here's a spectacular early Christmas / Boxing Day present. Super Channel, the nation's premium national TV service, has just made itself available in British Columbia and Alberta on Telus TV. That's right, half a dozen new ones are now ready for viewing, with two of them being in glistening high-definition. The SD stations will be hosted on slots 230 through 233, while the HD variants will be delivered on 635 and 636. And hey, there's no wrapping paper to clean up, which is always a plus.
Canadian valley fights to stay "cellphone free," yet plans VoIP-friendly MuniFi
The luddites have evidently busted out of the early-1800s and resettled in the Slocan Valley up in rural British Columbia: an "economic development group" of residents in this opposite-of-silicon valley has asked a company not to erect a cellphone tower that would provide access to the valley, claiming that the move will in some way attract people by detracting cellphone owners and their tendencies to be loud and anti-social. If their demand is successful, they hope to go on and promote the valley's "cellphone free status": personally, we'd be cowering in shame. The ultimate irony is that the same authority is putting up a WiFi network to give residents access to the internet, and -- how do we put this -- VoIP. Hey, they can always claim health concerns when and if that "issue arises."
Urilift: the disappearing public urinal (and we do mean public)
While there's no shortage of bathroom-based oddities floating around out there, the Urilift system definitely takes top honors. Since the presumably alcoholics anonymous-approved Wizmark urinals can't keep everyone from getting a little tipsy, officials in Victoria, British Columbia are taking a note from European countries to keep urine off the streets. Rather than leaving inebriated party-going males nowhere to relieve themselves on the streets, the government is considering installing hydraulic toilets in the roadways, which are remotely triggered at night to appear from their subterranean dwelling place. While there's no doors or privacy factor involved, those who were previously choosing to take it to the sidewalks probably won't mind all that much, and designers say the open design discouraged loitering and criminal activity anyway. Priced at $75,000 a pop, Victoria plans to become the first North American locale to try these newfangled restrooms out -- and hey, at least we know where to head for a clean(er) Spring Break now, right?
