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Starbucks Super Sizes its Selection

After finishing a grande (or a medium, for those unfamiliar with Starbucks’ use of Italian lingo) passion iced tea within minutes a few years ago, the barista advised me to ask for “light ice” to maximize the serving size. It’s a great tip and one that I’ve used several times since then.

For those who want even more, Starbucks has just announced that they will soon be introducing another size, Trenta, for their iced coffee, iced tea, and iced lemonade. Trenta-sized drinks will be 920 mL, or 31 ounces, depending which metric system you prefer, as the name stems from the Italian word meaning thirty. The new size will be introduced in Starbucks franchises in select U.S. states this month, followed by a wide release in the spring.

So the next time you’re at the grocery store and see a 1 L carton of milk or juice, picture yourself drinking nearly the entire thing in one sitting, or commute. Next time someone says “let’s meet for coffee”, be prepared for it to last a while.

Dan Levy is Leaving MTV!

Dan Levy

He just updated his Facebook page to share the news:

“Well friends, after five incredible years, I’ve decided to take my next steps and bid farewell to my amazing MTV family. My time at MTV has changed my life in ways I never imagined. That is due, in large part, to all of your support. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. It’s not goodbye, it’s just a new hello. See you sooner than you may think! In the meantime, we’ll always have fb and twitter to keep us warm!”

In the News: Canadian musicians ask for new levy

Courtesy of Canadian Press:

An A-to-Z list of Canadian music stars, including Anne Murray, Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, and members of the Tragically Hip, called on the government Thursday to impose a levy on MP3 players. More than 350 musicians signed a letter addressed to Industry Minister Tony Clement and Heritage Minister James Moore about the government’s copyright bill, C-32.

A Commons committee began studying the proposed legislation this week, and the two ministers testified before MPs on Thursday morning.

The letter urges the ministers to apply a levy to MP3 players that would later be redistributed to artists in royalties, in the same way that levies are currently applied to blank cassettes and CDs as compensation for music that is copied by Canadians.

“MP3 players are this generation’s version of blank media. A copy is a copy and the principle of fair compensation for rights holders should apply whether the copy is made onto blank media or MP3 players,” the artists wrote.

“…We know that you do not want to see a Canada that is devoid of musicians and songwriters, but without fair and balanced treatment, that may be the tragic consequence.”

Other artists who attached their names to the letter include Stompin’ Tom Connors, Tom Cochrane, Lawrence Gowan, Metric, Hedley, Sarah Harmer, Kathleen Edwards and Hawksley Workman. The letter was co-ordinated by the Canadian Private Copying Collective, the organization that takes in existing levies and hands out royalties to singers, songwriters, producers and record companies.

Last week, a group of Canadian actors lobbied MPs on Parliament Hill on the same issue on behalf of actors union ACTRA.

Clement and Moore have consistently said they are against applying a levy to MP3 players, calling it an unnecessary tax on Canadians.

Bill C-32 makes it legal for Canadians to copy music for personal use, although it has been criticized in some quarters for making it illegal for an individual to pick a digital lock imposed by rights holders to do so.

Some critics also say the legislation gives educational institutions to much freedom to reproduce and use copyrighted material.

Breaking News: Limes are for drinks, not P2P File Sharing

It’s time to uninstall Limewire, folks.

“As a result of a court-ordered injunction, we are required to disable ‘the searching, downloading, uploading, file trading and/or file distribution functionality, and/or all functionality; of LimeWire’s P2P file-sharing software”, reports a Limewire spokeswoman.

The Social Network prompted many people to reminisce about Sean Parker’s launch of Napster. Once his software faced lawsuits, Limewire’s green icon found a place on my desktop and has sat there since the early 2000’s.

Now Internet users must find alternate sources for downloading their favourite shows and music. University students enjoy peer-to-peer file sharing on campus using programs like DC++ and Shakespeer, while millions of others seem content listening to songs on YouTube.

Steve Jobs must be thrilled about the potential boost iTunes sales will have as a result.

FULL STORY