Sim City screenshot from EA's Origins Store

After waiting ten years for the release of a new SimCity, it looks like fans of the popular franchise will have to wait just a little bit longer.

Despite promises by EA that its servers would be able to handle the influx of eager players starting up the game on its release today, demand for the game at EA’s virtual Origin store has led to users being advised that they’ll have to wait up to half an hour before they’re able to download the game.

[ Related: SimCity developers’ Reddit AMA turns sour over copyright protection ]

The Origin account sent out several tweets beginning at the midnight launch, indicating that there were heavy delays due to traffic. After ten hours of silence, it looks like Origin still had only bad news to deliver to those waiting to download the game:

We are experiencing overwhelming demand which is keeping some users from accessing their games. We’re working as fast as we can to resolve.

— Origin (@OriginInsider) March 5, 2013

Those who purchased a physical

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YouTube - iPhone (Pocket-lint image)No one really likes getting those hefty cell phone bills, but a B.C. dad is especially peeved after being charged thousands of dollars in roaming charges while on a family trip to Mexico.

According to the CBC, Matt Buie is a Fido customer, whose parent company is Rogers. The Burnaby father recently took his family of four on a vacation down south, where his 11-year-old son got a sun burn and was forced to entertain himself indoors over the course of three days. He asked to play video games on Buie’s iPhone, and despite his paranoia about roaming charges, Buie relented and lent his son the smartphone.

[ Related: B.C. woman gets charges for cell phone roaming in her own home ]

Before leaving for vacation, Buie turned the iPhone to ‘airplane mode’ in order to prevent any unwanted roaming charges.

“I made a mistake here – as his father – and he made a mistake. He turned off the airplane mode and was watching YouTube videos,” Buie told CBC. “I should have taken the SIM card out… or not let

Read More »from Fido customer gets $22,000 phone bill for roaming charges

(Image via Kohler/Wayfair.com)

First thing in the morning when you step in the shower, nothing quite brings you into the land of the living like listening to some tunes or to your favourite radio program while you wash up. If morning (or any time) music is integral to your shower routine, you can now go beyond the basic shower radio with a speaker built into your shower.

The Kohler Moxie Showerhead and Wireless Speaker includes a speaker that attaches right inside the showerhead. The speaker is attached inside using magnets, and pairs with your music-playing mobile device via Bluetooth (up to 32 feet away) to play up to 7 hours of music on a single battery charge (although chances are good you’d be pretty pruney if you stayed in the shower for its full battery life). When the battery does run down, you remove the speaker from the showerhead and plug it in via USB cable to recharge.

Equally important is the showerhead itself, which includes 60 angled nozzles on the sprayface and 2.5 gpm (gallons per minute). When

Read More »from Must-Have Monday: Listen to music in the shower – from your showerhead

Anyone with a working knowledge of computers and the Internet knows of malware — a catch-all term for software that attacks a computer’s systems, like a virus or Trojan Horse.

These kinds of software pose a real threat to your personal security. There’s risks of losing your data, compromising your banking information or losing your hard drive altogether if malware makes its way into your PC’s vital systems.

Now imagine computer malware so dangerous that it works its way into a country’s nuclear facilities, spying and attacking digital infrastructure on an industrial scale.

The bad news? That kind of malware already exists.

It’s called Stuxnet — an extremely sophisticated computer worm that spreads indiscriminately across targeted networks.

The virus is alleged to have been created by American and Israeli intelligence services to attack software and equipment that runs Iran’s nuclear program. Stuxnet’s origins have been shrouded in mystery, yet this week, news emerged that the malware

Read More »from Three things you need to know about Stuxnet malware

Nintendo to launch new Wii Mini for as little as £60. (Image: Pocket-Lint)In less than a month, the smaller version of the Wii exclusively available in Canada sold 35,700 units – not bad for a system that a) most people already own if they want it and b) cripples some of the best features of the Nintendo Wii, including Internet connectivity and backwards compatibility.

The console, distinctive from the traditionally white Wii in a matte red and black, launched December 7, 2012, and between that time and January 1, 2013, Nintendo moved just over 35,000 units, Polygon reports. If you need a sense of scale, though, the Wii U, which was released around the same time in Japan, sold 308,000 consoles over its launch weekend.

[ Related: Wii Mini to launch exclusively in Canada for $99 ]

While the low price point was likely enticing for the few people who still don’t own a Wii, it didn’t exactly take the Canadian retail market by storm over the holidays – I imagine there was more than one heartbroken kid who asked for a Wii, only to get this instead of a Wii U last

Read More »from Nintendo Wii Mini sells over 35K units in Canada, and Brits still don’t want it

iTunes U (Business Wire)Today, Apple hit a major milestone with its iTunes U program: over one billion digital education resources have been downloaded through it.

For many who are out of the school system or who aren’t attending one of the 1,200 universities and colleges or 1,200 K-12 schools that currently participate in iTunes U, the program and its possibilities remain kind of a mystery.

iTunes U has grown rapidly over the last nine months. TechCrunch reports that in its first five years, iTunes U managed to deliver 700 million downloads to students. From June 2012 to now, it managed to serve another 300 million, indicating the concept is finally catching on with schools in a big way.

[ Related: Two free ways to get a university education, virtually speaking ]

If you aren’t familiar with iTunes U, you could be missing out on a potentially valuable opportunity at a free education. Teachers can create virtual classrooms by combining audio and video files, presentations, PDFs, iBook textbooks, ePub books and

Read More »from iTunes U crosses 1B downloads – but what is it exactly, and who’s using it?

(Image via Splitsecnd)Being able to contact emergency services via technology like OnStar when you’re in a tight spot is great, but if you’re driving a car not equipped with the technology, you’ve typically just been out of luck.

Now, a new device called Splitsecnd automatically calls 911 if you’re in a crash, giving any car the ability to make a lifesaving call when you aren’t able to.

The device plugs into your cigarette lighter and detects when your vehicle has been in a crash. Engadget explains that once the device has been triggered, it contacts local emergency services with your location while a representative talks to you and explains what’s happening. You can also press the button on the device to contact a representative directly in the event of a medical emergency or other situation where you’re in need of help, but haven’t had an accident.

As an added bonus, the device will also let you track the whereabouts of all your family members with the device through the free Splitsecnd mobile app for

Read More »from Splitsecnd device notifies 911 when you’ve been in a car accident

(Image from Nokia.com)At this week’s Mobile World Congress, Nokia debuted a cell phone it hopes will make huge progress in making cell phone technology accessible to more people.

The Nokia 105, which will cost customers €15 (about $20 CAD), is being advertised as a phone that could be accessible to more people, due to its low cost and lengthy battery life. According to Nokia, the phone has up to 12.5 hours of talk time and 35 days of standby time, which also makes it an ideal emergency phone.

[ Related: Nokia launches cheaper Windows Lumia smartphone for developing world ]

Because it’s built to be as cost effective as possible, it doesn’t come with much in the way of bells and whistles. Users can make calls, send SMS text messages, play the pre-loaded games, listen to FM radio and use the Nokia Life service in countries where it’s available, an education service that can help teach life skills like how to study or handle finance and can assist those who want to learn English.

With its primary audience

Read More »from Nokia unveils the 105, a $20 cell phone with 35 days of battery life