The impulse to constantly check a mobile phone for messages is similar to the feeling people get when they're playing slot machines at a casino, according to a psychology professor.

Steve Joordens, who teaches at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus, says devices like iPhones and BlackBerries are powerful tools because they allow people to instantly connect with their social networks.

Earning a positive social connection, such as receiving a friendly message or getting passed a link to a funny online video, can feel almost like earning money.

"Social reinforcements are often seen as the currency of the [online] realm," Joordens told Metro Morning contributor Jason Osler.  "So that text from that somebody you met two days ago -- maybe it could wait, but at the same time, if you see that text, it can give you a real jolt, like 'Oh, she didn't forget me.'"

These social rewards -- and how randomly they come -- can keep people tethered to their smartphones like gamblers at a slot machine, Joordens said.

"The reason [slot machines] are so addictive is because a person's pumping in the money, they're pulling the arm, [and] they never know when that will pay off. But they know it will. So randomness has this way of promoting addictive behaviour. You keep waiting for that reward."

Ryerson new media student Keegan Shim knows the feeling well. He has a BlackBerry and estimates he sends and responds to at least 50 text messages a day, not including emails. Shim, 21, said he often feels the need to text during classes and will even respond to a text that wakes him up in the middle of the night.

"Nowadays, I feel like a phone is an extension of my body," he told Osler. "For some reason I just can't be without my phone. If I leave my house and I forget my phone at home, you definitely feel like you're missing something."

How often do you check your mobile phone messages? Do you think you're addicted to your phone? Let us know in the comments below.

(This survey is not scientific. It is based on readers' responses.)

Jeopardy host Alex Trebek, left, poses with contestants Ken Jennings, centre, and Brad Rutter and an IBM-developed computer named Watson in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., in an undated photo. (Jeopardy Productions/Associated Press)

The IBM supercomputer Watson ended the first round of its two-game Jeopardy exhibition yesterday tied for first place with human player Brad Rutter.

Watson and Rutter were tied at $5,000, while the other challenger, Ken Jennings, was far behind with $2,000.

Rutter is the quiz show's all-time money-winner with $3.25 million and Jennings has the longest winning streak at 74 games.

Watson, named for IBM founder Thomas J. Watson, is powered by 10 racks of computer servers running under the Linux operating system. IBM says Watson has the processing power of 2,800 "powerful computers." The computer racks and the refrigeration units needed to cool them fill a room.

Watson can't see or hear and receives the questions by text file at the same time the human competitors do. This was made clear when Watson repeated a wrong response already given by Jennings.

The computer doesn't have an internet connection and relies on its own data banks and natural language algorithms to formulate its answers.

Read more:

Did you watch Watson take on the human Jeopardy players? What roles do you see Watson and other artificial intelligences taking in the future?

(This survey is not scientific. It is based on readers' responses.)

Music games such as Guitar Hero are often more expensive than your typical shoot-'em-up game because they require guitars, microphones and other musical equipment. While extra songs can be purchased for download, this hasn't been enough to keep the games profitable. (Associated Press)

The company behind the Guitar Hero video game announced Wednesday it was ending the franchise's run after more than five years.
    
Activision Blizzard Inc. said the move to disband the unit that produces Guitar Hero, Band Hero and similar games was "due to continued declines in the music genre."
   
In November, Viacom Inc. sold Harmonix, the money-losing unit that produces Rock Band games. The terms of the sale to an investment firm were not disclosed.

Game industry analysts say music games are more expensive to produce because they require custom guitars, drums and other controllers. Even making extra songs available for download hasn't made the genre profitable, they say.

Read more:

Are you surprised at the demise of Guitar Hero? Do you play music video games? Let us know in the comments below.



(This survey is not scientific. It is based on readers' responses.)
 

A man looks at different applications on his iPhone. (Jeff Chiu/Associated Press)

An iPhone app called Confession has received the approval of the Catholic Church in the U.S.

The app offers guidance for Catholics to help them with the sacrament of confession and also keeps track of their sins.

The app "is not intended to function as a replacement for confession" at church," he said in an email to CBC News.

Instead, it is supposed to help people prepare for confession and is designed to be used in the confessional, the booth in church where people sit while confessing to a priest, he said.

Leinen said he was inspired to create the app after Pope Benedict XVI's worldwide address on Jan. 24, urging Catholics to embrace modern communications and to make their presence felt online.

Developer Little iApps said the app has received the approval of Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne in Indiana.

Read more.

Do you think an iPhone confession is equal to one in a church? Let us know in the comments below. (This survey is not scientific. It is based on readers' responses.)

By CBC News 

For many of us, a trip into one of Canada's national parks is a chance to leave civilization and technology behind. 

But if Parks Canada has its way that will change starting this summer. Technology, in fact, may soon be your guide. 

Using a program called Explora and handheld computers with Global Positioning System (GPS) capabilities, Parks Canada plans to deliver location-specific content to hikers. As visitors hike with Explora, they are able to see their location on a map and interact with location-related text, images, sounds, video and quizzes. 

Read more. 

CBC Community member Michael Tenszen dislikes the new program, saying the average person visits "parks and woods, and lakes, to escape from electronic devices." 

Other people, like JimD40 see potential in the idea. "I like it. It's like getting a headset when you go to a museum. If you want it, it's there, but if you don't want it, it doesn't affect you in any way." 

What do you think about using technology, such as GPS devices, for camping and hiking? Do you tend to rely more on your wilderness skills? Tell us in the comments below.

(This survey is not scientific. It is based on readers' responses.)

The CRTC, Canada's communication regulator, has ruled that Bell can charge smaller ISPs based on usage, essentially forcing the small ISPs to stop offering unlimited internet packages and to bill based on usage, just as Bell, Rogers and Shaw do.

One ISP, Tekksavvy, has already slashed the amount of data its customers can download in a month, in some cases almost 90 per cent. 

What do you think of the CRTC ruling? Should internet use be charged by flat rate or by usage? Should ISPs be free to charge as they see fit?

More than 70 per cent of Irish employees say they have badmouthed their bosses on social networking sites.

The survey, conducted by employment law firm Peninsula Ireland, found that 73 per cent of respondents had used either Facebook or Twitter to criticize or disparage their employers.

The firm questioned more than 1,500 people, according to the Irish Examiner.

Have you ever badmouthed your boss online? Do you know of an incident where someone's online behaviour got him or her into hot water professionally? Let us know in the comments.

(This survey is not scientific. It is based on readers' responses.)

The Egyptian government shut down access to the internet and the country's cellphone data network early Friday, according to media reports.

Internet and cellphone data service was unavailable throughout the country, making it impossible for news of the protests to be broadcast via social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Cellphone voice service was also reported to be disrupted in certain parts of the country.

Protest organizers had also been using social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to spread information about the protests.

Do you think government should have the power to shut down the internet? Should access to the internet be protected under the law?

A New York State senator has introduced legislation that looks to ban pedestrians from using mobile devices, phones and music players while crossing the city streets.

Democratic State Senator Carl Kruger first proposed the statewide bill, and cited recent traffic deaths involving distracted pedestrians as cause for concern. Last month, a 21-year-old Manhattan pedestrian wearing headphones while crossing the street was hit and killed by a truck, the Telegraph reports.

If the new legislation is passed, people caught breaking the rule could face a court summons and be asked to pay a fine of $100.

Do you share concerns about the distraction caused by handheld devices? Do you think legislature should be passed to limit where people can use their iPods and cellphones? Let us know in the comments below.

(This survey is not scientific. It is based on readers' responses.)

Facebook has introduced Sponsored Stories, which uses check-ins from your friends as content for ads appearing on your Facebook page.

Facebook Marketing Solutions posted a video on the site Tuesday morning explaining the new feature.

"It's a way for marketers to increase the visibility of certain stories that show up in News Feed," Jim Squires, a member of Facebook's product marketing team, told the Financial Post. 

Facebook said the feature will allow advertisers to amplify word-of-mouth recommendations that Facebook friends are already making. The feature will only apply to Facebook Places check-ins for now, but there are plans to extend it to ads placed on the Marketplace app, as well.

Companies using Sponsored Stories at launch include Coca-Cola, Levi's, Bud Light, Amnesty International, Women for Women and the Alzheimer's Association.

Facebook said there are no plans to show the ads outside of the Facebook website.

As with previous features Facebook has introduced, Sponsored Stories will be turned on by default, but users can adjust their privacy settings to prevent their updates from appearing in ads.

Facebook recently disabled a controversial new feature that would allow app developers to access some users' mobile phone numbers and addresses if given users' permission.

In 2009, Facebook also shut down Beacon, an application that broadcast users' activities, including purchases, on other websites to their Facebook friends. The feature was in place for nearly two years before being shut down because of privacy complaints.

Do you think there are too many ads on Facebook? Would you want your Facebook activity to be displayed as Facebook ads? Let us know in the comments below.

(This survey is not scientific. It is based on readers' responses.)