TTC nerds and vintage video game fans will like this offering from new media artist Patrick T. Lo, who has recreated the monotony of the daily commute on the TTC. Called Ride the Better Way, the game features an unnamed character who's a bit down on his luck as he makes the trip to and from work each day. Here's the thing, though: it's all a bit like the pilot Jerry and George pitch to NBC on Seinfeld. Nothing happens.

It was the tech event of the month on Tuesday as the Android community descended on 99 Sudbury to learn, debate and discuss all things Android. Twelve months is a long time in the tech world and this time last year the world's most widely adopted mobile platform was still playing second fiddle versus the more sexy iOS. Not any more. While iOS might still have the savvy marketing of Apple fueling its buzz (and usage), Android powered devices now account for more than half of all smartphone sales south of the border.

If there's proof in Toronto of Android's rise it's that AndroidTO drew 300% more attendees this year compared to the inaugural conference in 2010 (about 620 vs. 225). Of this, about half the tickets sold were to non-developers indicating that entrepreneurs, marketers and other business types are paying closer attention to the platform.

Nuit Blanche wasn't the only all night party this weekend. While half the city was wandering the streets of Toronto, collections of young coders were designing the next app in hubs across the city. The Great Canadian Appathon competition, which pits young coders against each other in attempts to create the next big game for XMG and a chance to win up to $25,000 had its second coming this weekend.

The kids arrived at their respective pods Friday at 5pm, and just like MTV's The Real World, they were confined to their quarters with limited access to the outside world until they were released Sunday at 5pm. Unlike The Real World, there were supervisors making sure they didn't overdose on energy drinks or get up to any hanky-panky on the bean bag chairs--although the supervisor at the Ryerson location didn't seem to think this would be an issue.

As I've mentioned before, one of the best parts of digging around the Toronto Archives is the stuff you find that you were never looking for. I'd guess that at least a third of the ideas I've had for historical posts about the city have come via some serendipitous discovery or another. Today's installment certainly fits this bill.

When I was putting together a post about what banks used to look like in Toronto, I happened to stumble upon some spectacular, Kubrick-esque shots of an unidentified computer room that got me wondering if there were any more like them in the City's digitized collection. As it turns out, there are — though not as many as I'd like.

Wattpad is a Toronto start-up that wants to do for unpublished authors what YouTube did for amateur filmmakers. The 12 employee company, currently based in North York, just received a $3.5 million cash infusion from Union Square Ventures, the same VC that has funded the likes of Twitter, Foursquare and Tumblr. They plan to use the money to hire new talent, add new features and quickly grow beyond the one million registered users currently signed up for the service.

DineSafe info is now readily accessible via the iPhone and Android. The new apps, created by the non-profit HackLab, leverage the open source data shared by the City of Toronto. It's the same data we use in the blogTO iPhone app and on this web site to link to DineSafe records next to each restaurant review. Handily, HackLab's new apps take this data even further, with comprehensive DineSafe records searchable by name, location (nearby), status and recent inspections.