Tech Talk with Marc Saltzman

About the show

1. Mötley Crüe has made music history - no, they didn't break a record for the most arrests or the highest amount of hairspray consumed in the ‘80s, but the rockers behind "Dr. Feelgood" and "Looks That Kill" are the first band to release a brand new single through the mega-popular video game, "Rock Band." Yep, Mötley Crüe's latest single "Saints Of Los Angeles" is now available as a digital download for 160 Microsoft Points (which is about 99 cents) over the Xbox Live Marketplace or via the PlayStation Store. "Rock Band" will also be part of Mötley Crüe's upcoming Crüe Fest, a 40-city summer tour.

2. I knew security would be tight while visiting Pixar Animation Studios last week just outside of San Francisco, but I didn't expect I had to put my cell phone into a Ziploc bag and give it to security before stepping into the movie theatre. I watched about 15 minutes of the animated movie Wall-E, due out this June. If you're looking forward to the film, I can tell you this robotic love story will certainly appeal to kids and kids at heart. As an extra treat, I had a tour of Pixar to see drawings, storyboards and cutting room floor material from classic animated films like The Incredibles, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, Monsters Inc. I also had some hands-on time with the THQ game based on Wall-E. More info on that is at THQ.com

3. Web surfers who prefer to find real people talking about a particular subject - opposed to info provided by companies, online stores or news sites - might find value in a new search engine, Twing.com. It's a specialized search engine created as quick and easy way to search and discover opinions, conversations and communities that match your interests, and it features its own blogs and forums, too. The search engine uses proprietary software and algorithms to find relevant online communities and forums based on what you type in. Check out Twing.com.

4. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is allowing many of its DVD movies to be copied to a computer's hard drive or transferred to an iPod or other portable video player.  This includes the awesome Juno, as well as a half-dozen others like Family Guy: Blue Harvest, Hitman, Live Free or Die Hard and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem. If the DVD has a "Digital Copy" sticker on the box, here's how to do it. Insert the second disc and click the "Transfer Digital Copy" button. Select which device you want to copy it to and then type in the 12-digit code found in the DVD box. Wait 5 minutes and it'll be done.

5. Computer gamers eager to get their mouse-clicking finger on Microsoft Game Studios' "Mass Effect," based on last year's hit Xbox 360 game, will have to wait a little longer to dive into the sci-fi adventure. According to the game maker -- Edmonton's BioWare - the Windows version of the game will now launch on May 28, which is about a month later than originally planned. A post on the company website says the extra time is needed for additional play-testing and polish, and to fine tune the new interface and controls. Other new features include high-resolution graphics, a bonus mini-game and a tweaked inventory screen to make it easier to equip and modify your character's weapons and armour. More info is at masseffect.com.

6. The smallest and lightest full QWERTY-based BlackBerry is now available to BellMo subscribers for $249 with 36-month plan. The new silver BlackBerry Curve 8330 is a compact and light smartphone with many cool features including a QWERTY keyboard for easy messaging, email, texting and word processing; built-in GPS; 2.0-megapixel camera with video recording capability; stereo Bluetooth for use with wireless headphones and built-in Facebook and Windows Live Messenger apps. And of course, the BlackBerry is known for its reliable push mail service, so messages appear on your handset as soon as they arrive in your inbox. More info is at bell.ca.

7. Just as network executives doubted Seinfeld's "TV show about nothing" could succeed, who knew a game that mimicked everyday life would become one of the world's best-selling franchises in history? Gaming giant Electronic Arts says it is celebrating its 100 millionth "The Sims" game sold in its illustrious 8-year history. This includes PC, console and mobile games, as well as the numerous expansion packs and stand-alone offshoots such as "The Sims Life Stories." This milestone makes "The Sims" the no. 1 best-selling computer game franchise in history, and is only second to Nintendo's "Mario Bros." series for all video games. "The Sims" games have been translated into 20 different languages. More info on The Sims is at thesims.com

8. I recently laid my hands on Sony's new Handycam HDR-TG1, which is billed as the world's smallest and lightest "Full High Defintion" camcorder. The pocket-sized TG1 records video to postage stamp-sized Memory Stick Pro Duo cards (a 4GB card is included), which stores just over an hour of high-definition video quality. But an optional 16GB card can store nearly 6 hours of full HD movies. The also takes 4-megapixel still images. The camcorder feels solid with its pure titanium body, a material that's 40 percent lighter than steel and twice as strong as aluminum. Flip open the 2.7-inch widescreen and touch-sensitive LCD screen to see what you're shooting or playing back content. Price is $999. More info at sonystyle.ca

9. YouTube, Shmootube. A new video-centric search engine called blinkx finds more than 18 million hours of videos from around the world. Yes, 18 million hours, and counting. Dubbed the world's largest and most advanced video search engine, blinkx is basically a gateway to find many millions of hours of searchable video, including content from more than 200 broadcast partners and private video libraries. Just for fun I typed my name in and found two-dozen interviews I've done on TV, half of which I forgot about. And it also took less than a second to spit out all of the sites and begin playing a video in the preview window. To use Blinkx for free, visit b-l-i-n-k-x.com

10. The only problem with HBO's award-winning series -- such as Entourage, Flight of the Conchords, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Sopranos -- is finding the time to catch them all. Bell Mobility customers now have another option. Home Box Office shows are now part of BellMo's on-demand service, where full episodes of your favourite shows are available on supported phones, along with previews, trailers, bonus footage and stand-up comedy. This partnership with HBO also brings related ringtones, wallpapers, and soon, mobile games. This $10 a month service is available on select phones, including the LG Muziq, LG 385 and Samsung Carbon. More info is at bell.ca/hbo

11. A couple of months ago I told you about a free service, WorldTaximeter.com that combines directions from Google Maps with local cab fares to give you a cost estimate for a taxi ride in cities worldwide. So now you know roughly how much it could cost from, say, the airport in Paris, to your hotel - before you step into the taxi. Well, now the service is available in Toronto. Available on your PC or mobile phone, WorldTaximeter now offers taxi rates for Toronto, Barcelona, San Francisco, Berlin, London, Boston, Los Angeles, Madrid, New York, Paris, Rome and Prague. That's worldtaximeter.com.

12. 59 percent of Canadian experience "disconnection anxiety" - according to a new report by Solutions Research Group. Yes, more than half of Canadians exhibit elevated levels of anxiety when disconnected from the Internet or cell phones. Sure, this might seem pathetic, but at least we're lower than Americans, where 68 percent experience disconnection anxiety when away from the Internet and cell phones. This data was also collected and analyzed by the Solutions Research Group, in a study that used research collected on nearly 5,000 people over two years.

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