Huzzah! Google Street View has finally been released in Canada (and the Czech Republic). This Canadian blogger is pretty excited, since it has been a long time coming. There's something surreal about finding your own house in Google Maps, then actually looking at your front door.

For people who have never used Google Street View, the functionality isn't immediately obvious. To enable it, you have to drag the icon of a man that is above the zoom slider to a place on a street. The experience is pretty surreal the first time you do it.

Though this might just seem like a whiz-bang feature that looks cool but doesn't have a real-world application, imagine you're trying to get to an important appointment in an office building you've never been to before. Imagine how much easier it would be to find your way if you already know what the building looks like.

[via Google Blogoscoped]

Facebook is changing its privacy settings again, to fall in line with the recommendations of the Canadian Privacy Commissioner. The Commissioner was primarily concerned with how much access third-party apps were getting to user data on Facebook. As a result, apps will have to be more specific about the data they use, letting you know precisely which info they need and whether they access your friends' profile info.

From a developer standpoint, this means changes to the API in the coming months, so apps will have a uniform way to tell users which data they're accessing. This could slow the growth of some of the popular viral (or spam-based, depending on your perspective) apps that rely on surreptitiously sending out messages to your entire network to get new users. With greater transparency, it'll be easier for users to make informed decisions about which information to share, and with whom.

[via CNET]

Google Voice lets users make free calls to phone numbers in the United States. And starting this week, users can also make free calls to Canada, a feature that was available in GrandCentral before Google bought the service and turned it into Google Voice.

The only catch is that you can only make those free calls if you're in the US, because Google Voice isn't available in other countries yet.

In order to make a free phone call, you can login to your web-based inbox and hit the Call button, use a mobile application, or call your own Google Voice number from a registered phone and hit #2 to place a call.

Pretty much every time we publish an article about Hulu or other web sites that let visitors watch full length streaming television episodes, someone leaves a comment pointing out that the service only works in the US. That's generally because these web sites don't have the distribution rights (and advertising deals) needed to stream these programs in other countries -- even countries that are as geographically close to the US as Canada.

But Canada's CTV Network has now launched its own streaming TV section. The selection of videos isn't nearly as rich as what you'll find from Hulu. But CTV does air a number of popular programs in Canada and many of them are available online including Mad Men, Fringe, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report.

Videos are shown with limited advertisements, and you can watch in full screen. As you'd expect, the site only works if you're in Canada (or using a proxy network to make it appear as if you are). But blogger Dale Dietrech took the service for a spin and assures us that it works.

[via Zatz Not Funny]

We brought you the news that Skype is now available for the iPhone last week, but what we didn't mention is that it's available in every country where the iPhone is sold, except for Canada. The CBC is reporting that there is a patent-license restriction causing the hold up, and goes on to clarify that the restriction has to do with Skype, not Apple, though it's hard to see how the issue would be with Apple.

With so few details, it's hard to be optimistic that Skype will be available on the iPhone any time soon in Canada. Message boards and even the comments on this CBC article are rife with links to pages instructing Canadians on how to go about getting a US iTunes account. Clearly Skype is a killer app for the iPhone, and if Skype can't sort out the problem, many Canadians will simply find a way around it.

It would be appreciated if Skype were to come clean and explain exactly what the issue is that is causing the problem; a little public pressure might be what is needed to gently influence the other party to relent.

Is this another case of Canadians getting the short end of the stick, or are we just a bunch of whiners up here?

There are free icon sets and icon fonts all over the internet, but nothing is as special as one that represents the place you call home.

10four design based out of Vancouver BC has put up for the taking an iconic font that represents Canadian life. All things Canadian come together in this special set called Adanac, including beer, lumberjacks, kraft dinner, poutine, zambonis, beavers, toques and even John Candy. Nothing says Canada more than this set, and if you feel like screaming Canada in anything you are creating on your computer, make sure to use this set.

To grab the free Adanac font set, visit the site and fill out your name and email, and 10four will send you an email with an address and password for download.

With it getting harder for U.S. companies to recruit foreign nationals for jobs in the programming and engineering, could they all start a shift towards opening facilities in Canada?

Microsoft has announced that they will be opening a software development center in Vancouver. This will be set up due to the fact that it's getting extremely difficult to employ skilled workers with the present immigration quotas in place. U.S. businesses have been urging Congress to lift quotas on the number of visas issued by the government, making room for more skilled professionals especially in the software engineering field. And there is a big battle brewing over that between business owners, middle class Americans, and the Government. Bill Gates has been striking at engineering careers, saying that more American students could be convinced to enter the field if engineers from other countries are imported. However others see it as a threat to their country, and wage protections for U.S. workers. Is Microsoft really having trouble finding employees, or are they just having problems finding employees at the wage they are interested in paying?

Why the move to Canada? Canada does not employ such strict quotas on the number of visas it issues every year, with an emphasis on skilled laborers that are focused on starting a life in the country.

Microsoft is planning to open its Vancouver facility by the end of the year, with 200 employees, expanding to 900 within a few years.

[via eWeek]

Still have some friends who aren't hooked up with email yet? Maybe your Grandparents or Parents are a little behind the times? Or maybe you just want to send some paper to someone?

EasyPost has opened the doors and made it possible for anyone to send paper letters to any mailbox in Canada via a simple online form. The letters that are submitted through the online form gets printed out via high quality laser printers and premium white paper, packaged up and sent out at the end of each day in regular mail through the Canada Post system. Quite a promising system for Canadians who want an alternative to sending postal mail, but don't want the hassle of printing and running out to buy stamps and envelopes.

EasyPost is free for a limited time and available anywhere in Canada.

Similar to the Postful service.

Working from anywhere in downtown Toronto was great for many wireless workers for the past nine months. There was no need to walk aimlessly looking for an open wireless signal, now that time has sadly come to an end. It was so easy to connect to one of Toronto Hydro Telecom's free OneZone urban Wifi network signals in the six square kilometer area that it covers. The area, centered on the cities financial district and spreading out over City Hall and the University, is now only accessible to paying customers.

40,000 users test drove the new Wifi service during the extended free trial offer, with the highest usage times tracked between 2pm and 5pm Monday to Friday. Starting on April 24th, users of the Wifi signal are required to pay either $4.99/hr, $9.99/day, or $29/month for access.

Is 10 bucks a day CDN too much or just right? Would you prefer a free service that is sponsored by ads or a sponsored login page?

If you are looking for free wireless points in Toronto, check out http://wirelesstoronto.ca/