I’ve been watching this dog show on TV since I was a kid and it’s great to see a live stream of the event. It gives you a different view and impression of the show. Thanks to @HikerCA for the heads up!

RIM director Roger Martin speaking to the Globe and Mail:

I laugh at the vast majority of critics when they say ‘Oh, you should have made this CEO transition, like, four years ago.’ Yeah, right – like, to who?

I guess the co-CEOs aren’t the only ones that need to go.

The design obviously boasts a fairly sizable departure from previous iterations of VLC, most obviously with 2.0 consolidating much of the UI into one window.

An infographic showing the history of radio via Jim Coudal.

Gobbler transfers files extraordinarily fast from one account to another, and is geared towards musicians. If you decide that you can’t live without it, you want all your stuff backed up to your Gobbler account, and you need to send out even more projects at lightning speed, starting at $8 a month it’s still a steal! And, it also works really well with SoundCloud.

I’ve had a Gobbler account for some time now, but haven’t really used it a lot. However, the more I share files, the more I’ll be using it.

Mark Millan for CNN:

As Apple is reportedly readying a third-generation iPad to be unveiled in the next month or so, owners of previous versions of the tablet may be contemplating a way to unload them for cash. Fortunate for them, the iPad can be resold for about half its original price a year or more after it hit the market, according to data from two popular online researchers that was compiled for CNN.On the other hand, Amazon.com’s Kindle devices, which analysts say pose the greatest threat to Apple’s dominance in tablets, have not been as sought after in the secondary market.

Another illustration of why it’s an iPad market and everyone else, as opposed to a proper “tablet” market.

Mental Floss:

Forget putting QR codes on your business card in order to stand out from the competition. Check out these 12 very cool, creative approaches.

The Guardian:

Sony Music has come under fire after it increased the price of a Whitney Houston album on Apple’s iTunes Store hours after the singer was found dead.The music giant is understood to have lifted the wholesale price of Houston’s greatest hits album, The Ultimate Collection, at about 4am California time on Sunday. This meant that the iTunes retail price of the album automatically increased from £4.99 to £7.99.

A pretty lame, grotesque attempt to cash in on the late singer’s death.

MG Siegler, on his “Parislemon” blog:

Most of what is written about the tech world — both in blog form and old school media form — is bullshit. I won’t try to put some arbitrary label on it like 80%, but it’s a lot. There’s more bullshit than there is 100% pure, legitimate information.The problem is systemic. Print circulation is dying and pageviews are all that matter in keeping advertisers happy. This means, whether writers like it or not, there’s an underlying drive for both sensationalism and more — more — more.

Siegler’s comments are very, very cynical, but there’s more than a grain of truth to it. The tech news business has changed dramatically over the course of the past decade, as more and more emphasis has been put on page views.

I don’t share his harsh appraisal that the best are either going to fall away or “break towards the bullshit and thrive.” But an educated consumer is always going to come out on top, and that requires more critical thinking skills on the average news reader’s part.

Many thanks to Strange Flavour for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed with SlotZ Racer, its free iPhone and iPad racing game.

Strange Flavour are back with a new spin on their hit slot car racing game SlotZ Racer!SlotZ Racer Caterham Special is a free special version of the game for fans of Caterham’s legendary sports cars. Compete in single races or in four Caterham championships in one of five versions of the Caterham Seven car, varying from the Caterham 7 Roadsport to the Caterham 7 R500 Superlight.

Gizmodo:

Conveyor belt toasters help restaurants keep up with the breakfast demand, but the compact QuikServe from WestBend is instead designed for home use using a motorized system to pull your bread through, toasting it in a mere 90 seconds.

There’s not much “cool” about toasters but this idea is clever. Just don’t buy it for your significant other for Valentines Day. Gizmodo says the list price is $60 but you can get it on Amazon.com for only $40.

It’s the “story of a man who taught his cat to use instant messaging.” Funniest thing you’ll read today…..Thanks to Sian Meades and Jared Earle for the heads up.

Gothamist:

It’s Shamrock Shake season, and the green stuff is already ready to be slung at your local McDonald’s, and this year all of America will be able to indulge in the seasonal treat. The chain announced today that the shake will go national this year, for the first time in its 42-year-long existence.According to the McDonald’s spokeswoman, Ashlee Yingling, the minty shake “is currently available at every one of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants,” and will be available through March 25th.

Anyone else embarrassed to admit how much they look forward to these things each year?

100,000 Scovilles Naga Chilli Vodka

We filled a carboy with vodka, and into it we poured so many Naga Jolokia chillies that there was nothing but darkness in that carboy, nothing but darkness. We left the chillies to infuse and impart their flavour, colour and deathly fire into the vodka, and we’ve bottled the result. We are sorry. We are truly sorry.This stuff smells like pure evil, like the very blood of Satan himself. Such a pungent nose of chilli, it makes your eyes water just sniffing it.

Not a fan of spicy food but if you are, why would you want to ingest something that can cause you this kind of pain?

TIME:

Though Facebook’s SEC filings are dominating headlines, social neophyte Pinterest is gaining traction and plenty of buzz as the newest social media darling.According to comScore, Pinterest was the fastest growing independent site to hit 10 million monthly unique visits in the U.S., while a new report claims it drives more referral traffic to online retailers than Google+, YouTube, Reddit and LinkedIn combined.But is Pinterest just a digital arts and crafts bulletin board piggybacking off of a social phenomenon, or is there value in joining?

Act of Valor

Wired’s Danger Room:

SEALs are supposed to be secretive, stealthy killers. The public will probably never know the identities of the SEAL Team Six members who killed Osama bin Laden. But the Navy and the Pentagon had no problem letting the producers of a forthcoming action movie put active-duty SEALs on camera. Their faces are on screen and their names — first names, at least — are in the credits, along with their rank.“There were many precautions taken with the project to make sure our advantages on the battlefield would not be compromised to the enemy,” explains Amanda Greenberg, a Navy spokeswoman. Well, that and the fact that Act of Valor — in theaters next Friday! — is one giant, explicit recruiting pitch.

Not expecting great acting or dialog but am expecting things to blow up real good!

PC World:

A free new tool released on Thursday was built specifically to address many of the concerns raised in that study and to go well beyond what standard private browsing modes can do. It’s called Do Not Track Plus, and it works seamlessly with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari; not only that, but it can increase page load speeds by up to four times, its maker says.Users can decide at the individual website level whether they want to block or allow tracking. When they do want their activities to remain private, DNT+ blocks a growing list of 580 different tracking technologies and more than 200 tracking companies.

I’ve been using it for a while and it’s a bit scary to see how often and in how many different ways we are being tracked.

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Lucasfilm has done a smashing job on Star Wars — it’s easily one of the best post-3D conversions I’ve seen. The key to this is that most of the 3D effects are relatively subtle. In other 3D post-conversions, the makers are so keen to make it clear it’s in 3D they make the effect too stark.So is it worth paying to see?

At this point, is there any point in even discussing it? If you’re a fan, you will, if you’re not, you won’t. What’s interesting is kids today won’t get to see the series the way we did (out of order) so it will be an entirely different experience and story for them.

Creamy Pasta With Shrimp And Vegetables

There’s nothing more romantic than a private dinner for two when you want to spend some time with your significant other this coming Valentine’s Day. And you don’t need to make reservations weeks in advance or pay a pretty sum for dinner out.The following slideshow features quick, simple and easy recipes that are designed to serve just two people. Look for the classic filet mignon with compound butter, roasted mustard salmon, roast duck breasts with pomegranate, and more. Any of these recipes will impress your loved one and show them how much you care. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Some of these recipes look so easy to make, even someone who burns water could create a lovely meal.

New York Times:

Analysts said the strategy of going head to head with arguably the most successful retail chain of the 21st century could be a smart move, although it is unlikely that Microsoft Stores will be money engines in the way Apple Stores have been.Microsoft has had nearly a decade to study Apple Stores and, despite the obvious similarities, has added a few new wrinkles. The new Palo Alto store will be bigger than Apple’s. It will have a dedicated space for local community organizations and schools. And it, like newer Microsoft Stores, will have a section devoted to small businesses.

How is “bigger” a wrinkle? And remember, Apple Stores started off with dedicated spaces – but found they didn’t need them to draw in crowds.

Rasmussen Reports:

With positive ratings for Congress at an all-time low, it may come as no surprise that a plurality of voters nationwide believes a group of people randomly selected from a telephone book would do a better job than the current legislators.The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters shows that 43% believe a group of people randomly selected from the phone book would do a better job than the current Congress. Thirty-eight percent (38%) disagree with that assessment, while another 19% are not sure.

Ben Brooks talking about the Path/Address Book kerfuffle:

If you live and play in the Apple world, you need only trust Apple. This is what Apple tells us — it’s a ‘feature’ of the Apple ecosystem.The fact is, that in this instance, Apple broke that trust.

I read that a couple of times and thought about what my reaction was to this whole mess. I don’t think Apple broke my trust though. If Apple told me my Address Book data was safe and this happened, then yeah, they would have broken my trust.

However, my reaction to this was that there’s obviously something that needs to be fixed.

Pioneer Press/AP:

Home-brewed coffee lovers who are used to descaling nespresso vertuoline themselves, take note: More than a million popular coffee makers are being recalled after dozens of reports of the brewers spraying hot liquid, coffee grounds or tea leaves onto people.

Another nail in the coffin for Tassimo one-cup coffee makers, which have been overshadowed by Keurig devices’ growing popularity.

Edwin Chan, for the Globe and Mail:

Tesla Motors Inc. on Thursday showed off a prototype of its Model X, a battery-powered SUV that represents the company’s bet that consumers will buy a range of electric vehicles spun from a common platform.The Model X, which features what the company calls “falcon-wing” doors and faster acceleration than a Porsche 911 – it goes from 0 to 100 km/h per hour in 4.4 seconds – will start production late 2013 and begin delivery in 2014.

It won’t be cheap, but it sure is cool-looking, for an SUV.