We are very pleased to announce that TRENDnet has become our newest sponsor.

TRENDnet is a global provider of award winning networking solutions to small and medium size business and home users. Building networking solutions since 1990, TRENDnet enables users to share broadband access, multimedia content and networked peripherals for true anywhere connectivity. TRENDnet’s diverse product line includes Wireless, Fiber, Switch, Gigabit, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Keyboard/Video/Mouse (KVM), Internet Camera, Print Server, Powerline, Bluetooth, Storage Server, Power over Ethernet (PoE), and Multimedia Accessories.

Hey all you girl gamers - we know you’re out there!

Be the first 4 member all-female Halo 3 team to purchase DSL 2008 tickets and you’ll each receive a G4 TechTV Canada “I <3 Geeks” t-shirt in fashionable gamer black.

T-shirts generously donated by G4 TechTV Canada. Watch for other t-shirt promotions coming soon!

…and a big explosion.

If anyone is wondering where all of our servers disappeared to, there was an electrical fire and explosion in the Houston data centre Saturday afternoon which effectively knocked the whole building offline as there was no power, and the fire department ordered the generators disconnected.

A you can tell, the centre now has power and we are once again online with all servers and sites functioning, including the IRC. So - welcome back.

I’ve just visited the WCG Canada official site and checked their forum to make sure what I had heard and have been reading is true, and it is. Here is the list of games which will be offered at the WCG Nationals:

Counter Strike 1.6 (5v5)
War Craft 3 Frozen Throne (1v1)
Project Gotham Racing 4 (1v1)
Guitar Hero 3 (1v1 Battle of Points, Level: Hard)
Virtua Fighter 5 (1v1)
Halo 3 (4v4)

As you can see, Starcraft: Broodwar has been dropped from the list by the WCG Canada Nationals event organizers. I know that many of you are very unhappy and disappointed about this turn of events. The decision was made by the organizers, and they are sticking with it. None of us at Digital Storm LAN had anything to do with this decision, and we are just as disappointed as the local players are.

That said, we will still be holding a Starcraft: Broodwar tournament - or perhaps more than one, we’ll see how the interest goes for that. Unfortunately, the winners will not be moving on to compete at the WCG Nationals level. I will be updating the tournaments list shortly to reflect the WCG Canada changes.

Digital Storm 2008 has been officially added to the tour calendar for powerhouse rock band, Mendella. This incredible group of 17 year old hard rockers will be playing on Saturday, August 2 at 8:00pm for the exclusive enjoyment of those who are attending Digital Storm. Mendella first appeared in Vancouver for the New Music West Festival two weeks ago, and made an appearance at the Tom Lee Music Rock Band Game Tournament. After their performance I conducted a brief interview with them for Village Gamer and they taped a promo spot for Blade Radio.

We will be making further announcements in regards to Mendella’s performance in the very near future - along with some other nifty happenings we’ve been working on for Digital Storm.

Earlier today, G4TechTV Canada confirmed that the company will be providing some very nifty swag to be used as random prizes at Digital Storm 2008. G4 TechTV Canada will also be providing promotional consideration for the tournament on its various broadcast and publication properties. Our thanks to the promotional department and G4 TechTV for supporting our event.

SteelSeries, the high quality gaming gear company from Denmark has become a second-time sponsor of Digital Storm LAN. Those who competed at Digital Storm 2006 will remember that SteelSeries sponsored the WCG Counter Strike tournament, providing prizes for the top three teams. Casper Mejlholm, Marketing Manager for SteelSeries says that “the company is very pleased to be working with the Digital Storm team again,” and this year the number of prize packages will be very substantial and will be announced in the very near future.

We are very pleased to announce that Argus Cameras has become a Digital Storm sponsor, and will be providing some very nifty and high quality cameras which some lucky (and skilled) gamers will be going home with after the Storm is over.

The first Argus camera, known as the Model A, was manufactured in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1936. It was an immediate success as the first low-cost, easy-to-use 35mm film camera in the world. Thirty thousand cameras were sold in the first week at $12.50 each!

Argus products now include a wide variety of digital imaging cameras and video products. Today, Argus continues its long tradition in the industry and is proud to present the newest members of the Argus family, the QC8340 8MP and the very cool Bean series.

This is going to be a week of exciting announcements - the first of which is confirmation from Shaw Cablesystems that they will indeed be providing the internet service for Digital Storm 2008. We are looking forward to working with the technicians from Shaw and the technical staff at the Croatian Cultural Centre to bring our gamers the best in internet service. Our thanks to Tavis, Cam and the rest of the team at Shaw for supporting Digital Storm and working with us to assist in the development of KillaNet’s Digital Media Education Centre.

We would like to take this opportunity to welcome Computer Power User Magazine to our list of confirmed sponsors. CPU Magazine will be giving all attendees a free copy of CPU along with discount subscription coupons, and they are also providing some swag for our random prize draws. Please be sure to visit the magazine’s site and show them some appreciation.

Computer Power User is a monthly print publication aimed at people who know that technology rocks. The kind of person who gets his kicks upgrading graphics cards and smashing benchmarks. The type of person who reinstalls Windows at 2 a.m. on a Saturday because his system keeps crashing while he’s ripping MP3s. Or the person who repartitions his drive to create a dual-boot system and install Linux so he can learn more about how the OS works.

It’s for people who enjoy wireless gadgets, fast Internet connections, and Quake III. People who like honest reviews, useful tips, and refreshing commentary from world-class computing experts. People who would rather check out the next exhibit at E3 in person than rely on the latest drivel from some PR flack.