Bell Tv -Things to consider before buying

• The dish will require south-east exposure in western Canada and south-west exposure in eastern Canada, with a clear line-of-sight (no trees, buildings, etc., blocking the dish).
• Permission for rental properties and condos: It's your responsibility to get permission to install Bell TV. You'll be required to sign the work order, confirming that you have secured the required permissions.
• The account holder must be on-site for the duration of the installation. If you can't be home at that time, please ensure a representative, 18-years of age or older, will be on-site to authorize the installation and sign the agreement on your behalf.
• Technicians are not authorized or equipped to enter attics for cable routing.
• Dish mount location may be regulated by local by-laws.
• Access to a phone line is recommended.

FREE PREVIEW Bell TV Channel Line up April 2011

During April 2011, as per Channel 271 of the Bell TV online guide, 
these Channels are on Free preview :

HD Channels 
VRAK.TV HD Channel 1870 - French Teen TV   - Ends 3rd April 2011

Non HD Channels 

VRAK.TV  Channel 140 - French Teen TV  - Ends 3rd April 2011

Non HD Channels -1st April to 2nd May 2011 Free Preview : 

Salt and Light Channel 654  -  Catholic Channel of Hope

bpm: TV Channel 579  - (beats per minute tv) Dance music

GSN Channel 639  - Game Show Network

The Fight Network Channel 388  - Combat sports (MMA, boxing, wrestling, kickboxing)

Nintendo 3DS AR

When we did our review of the CES 2011 5 top trends back in January. We told you about the  Nintendo 3DS AR  - here is a demo showing the AR system in action :

Moving House - Bell TV

Spring is when many people put their homes, for sale,  on the housing market.  If you already subscribe to Bell TV the good news is Bell will arrange for an installer to install Bell TV at your new home on your moving day.  -  Existing bell tv customer, moving to a new house list what information Bell will need in order to schedule an installer for you.

Game Galaxy - Bell TV

Game Galaxy - channel  550 has interactive games i.e  hunting, poker, puzzles etc.,  To enhance the experience buy the Wireless Game Controller which was specially designed for Bell Satellite TV.

The unit feature button that are relevant to the gaming experience and is much easier to use, for gaming, than the Bell Satellite TV remote control.








Photo credit:  www.usednanaimo.com/ classified-ad/10310750

Japan News - Survivors found after 9 days

Nine days after the earthquake and tsunami swept through Japan trapping a 16 year old, Jin Abe, and his 80 year old grandmother, Sumi Abe. in the kitchen of their two storey home in Ishinomaki. Had they been trapped in any other room they might have died.  There was food in the fridge and they were able to eat this to keep them alive.  Eventually Jin managed to clamber onto the roof the house and he cries for help were answered. 

Japan still has many people who are unaccounted for. You tube person finder launched a few days ago to help survivors connect with their loved ones. The special channel features video recordings made by people in the shelters - messages for their families to let them know where they are.  The recorded messages are being broadcast on TV channels across Japan.

FREE PREVIEW Bell TV Channels March and April 2011

During March and  April 2011, as per Channel 271 of the Bell TV online guide, 
these Channels are on Free preview :

HD Channels 

VRAK.TV HD - channel 1870 - French Teen TV 

Non HD Channels 

VRAK.TV  - channel 140 - French Teen TV

These Free previews end 3rd April 2011

Image: Ohmega1982 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

First Twitter message

When was the first twitter message - 5 years ago 21st March 2006.  
Who posted the Tweet - Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter.  
What was the first Tweet - " inviting co-workers " 


To date over 175 million registered global users utilize Twitter to share information or to discover breaking trends and news stories.
Because Tweeting is spontaneous it is essential to have an app for your smartphone that will quickly let you connect, tweet, catch up and retweet. Here are our recommendations for the top three smart phone operating systems - iPhone, Android, Blackberry :

iPhone
For multiple accounts Tweetdeck will handle your Tweets plus your Facebook, Google Buzz and Foursquare accounts too. 

Android
Android smartphone can also run Tweetdeck.  However, if you prefer to just handle Twitter then Seesmic will let you use multiple accounts. Photos and video can easily be shared as Seesmic supports Plixi, yFrog, TwitPic and even YouTube.  Bit.ly  and ls.dg account holders can also use the built in url shortener.    

Blackberry
The obvious app is Twitter for Blackberry which can of course be used on most BlackBerry model phones. Another good option is UberSocial which the standard Twitter features as well as some advanced ones, like tweet shortening, profile editing and search saving.


Note - For tweeting pics best app for all three - Twitpic  you can post direct, via website or email your photos in.

Spacewalk 3D Game

Following our post about spacewalks, this link for a ISS spacewalk game which is on the Nasa Website was emailed to us.

The game can be played online or downloaded to a PC or Mac computer.

First Spacewalk

In 1965 a Russian Voskhad 3KD Spacecraft launched.  It was manned by Pavel Belyaev and Alexei Leonov.  On the 18th March 1965 cosmonaut  Aleksei Leonov became the first person to walk in space.

Alexei was out of the spacecraft for 12 minutes and 9 seconds.  He was joined by a 5.35 meter tether to the spacecraft.  It was later released that the spacewalk (float) would have ended in disaster had Alexei not undergone extensive training and been a quick thinker.  When he reached the spacecraft's airlock  Alexei realized that his space suit had inflated, the only solution was to deflate the suit and in doing so release the pressure that was building up.  A dangerous maneuver due to the time scale in which his body had to react and adapt the the strains being placed upon it. In his weakened state Alexei could only just manage to climb back inside the spacecraft.

The first US Astronaut spacewalk was on the 3rd June 1965, during the Gemini 4 mission manned by Ed White and James McDivitt ). Ed White went a total of 48 meters (3 x his 8 meter tether) and was out in space for 23 minutes.

Image Credit:
Commander James McDivit, Nasa

Following these spacewalks the possibility of space stations and humans working and living in space became more than just a possibility.

The space program has helped develop many technologies that we take for granted: ceramic hobs; satellite tv; wireless signals; weather monitoring; gps locating and mapping. These and other innovative experiments are still ongoing. The most recent spacewalk took place at the  International Space Station on the 16th February 2011.  Dmitry Kondratyev and Oleg Skripochka (Expedition 26 Flight Engineers) were outside for 4 hours and 51 minutes. Their mission to install a pair of earthquake and lightning sensing experiments and to retrieve a pair of spacecraft material evaluation panels.  

It is amazing to see what has been achieved in the last 46 years and encouraging to  wonder what the future will hold.


 A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step - Confucius 

Tokyo Apple Store helps residents in Japan after Tohoku Earthquake

Came across this in Kevin Rose's blog It is part of an email he received following the devastating events of Friday 11th  March 2011, in Tokyo.

What a difference a positive attitude makes.  Apple's Role in Japan during the Tohoku Earthquake

iPad2 On Sale in the America

Most media attention has been focused on the Earthquake, Tsunami, Nuclear problems that Japan is experiencing  allowing the release of the iPad2 in America to slip by almost unnoticed.

The introduction of the white model and new iPad2  features have fueled speculation that sales figures might be over 500,000 units within the first two day.  The price point remains the same as for the original Apple tablet which is an attractive consideration for new and existing iPad buyers.

Given this amount of interest and orders, if you don't get your iPad2 on the day, wait time is expected to be around four or five weeks.

Canada beats Kenya at Cricket

ICC Cricket World Cup news - Canada had their second world cup win on Monday 7th March 2011, in New Dehli, India. Canada beat Kenya by 5 wickets.  The Canadian Captain Ashish Bagai and Jimmy Hansra both hit half-centuries and went on to score 64 and 70 runs respectively.   The final score was Canada 199/5, Kenya 198 All out.

What is a SIM Card

Your smart phone may contain a SIM Card.  What is a SIM Card, what does it do ?

A SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) Card is essentially a memory chip.  
Each SIM Card contains a unique serial number plus an internationally unique number of the mobile user.  Each one is personal to the user and the service provider a (ie a Bell SIM Card will only work on the Bell Network).   The smart phone must also be  compatible  ie  HSPA (or UMTS) and 850 MHz and 1900 MHz compatible). 


It is possible to use your card in someone else's cell phone, the charges, if you are using a Bell SIM Card, will be charged as if you had made the call from your own phone via the Bell Network, which is good news for the person letting you use their SIM enabled smartphone.


This is possible because the SIM Card keeps stores your phone number, your contact phone numbers and text messages as well as your account information -- it becomes your mobile identity, the information is stored on thee memory chip that acts like a mini hard drive.  


The SIM Card can be moved from one device to another, providing all your devices are compatible, there should be need for multiple SIM Cards.

iPad2 to be released in Canada 25th March 2011

Today saw the launch of iPad2  to be released in Canada 25th March 2011
Comparison Chart

Price - From $499 US to $829

Also introduced -

• Smart covers -   a sectional magnetic cover to protect your screen. that can control sleep functions and auto clean your screen - available in a range of colors.

• HDMI Compatability

• Auto orientation with lock switch preference setting.

• iPad2 to incorporate Photo Booth,  Facetime and Garage Band

Image Credit  - Greg Kumparak  -

Mobile Crunch - Live Blog