13 posts tagged “canada”

 Since Apple rolled out there new Touch Screen iPod  less then 2 weeks ago, I've been thinking a lot of what's next for the iPod. Now that the huge amount of speculation is over (it's been mounting for over 2 years) what's next for the iPod? What's the next frontier? Now that Apple has content distribution system that is accessible from basically anywhere with a broadband internet connection. Although right now, that distribution system is, at the present time, only limited to music, I can see it going to video with the add on of Wireless possibly next year. However, that would also require many access points to switch to N as well, so I suppose that Apple will have to future proof the WiFi by installing Access points that compatible with both b/g/n.
    On the subject of content as I mentioned before, I really, really, really want Apple to bring content to the Canadian iTunes Store. Now that the iPod is awesome, why not focus on getting some shows here? I mean seriously, both the U.S. and the U.K. have them, why not the great white north? I'm telling you guys, once they do bring content to the iTunes store I'm going on a shopping spree. But that probably won't happen for the next few months or even a year or two before content comes to the North. This is not really acceptable. Considering where just over the border, you think it would just be a simple matter of putting them on Canadian iTunes Store, but that 's not really the case. Now they have it in the U.K., maybe, just maybe, they'll decide to stop screwing Canadians and put some content up here. Who knows, maybe they'll even put some movies up here as well
/end rant

So there have been yet more Apple invites circling around the web over the past few days. Typically Apple only holds a handful events every year (2 in the Fall, Macworld, WWDC and possibly one more) However going out of it's way, Apple is holding it at it's Regent St. Flagship store in jolly old London. Could this be a dscreet message to us? Engadget and TUAW are speculating that there are two possibilities. 1) An iPhone Model for Europe. possibly 3G. or 2) Expanded content offerings in Europe on the iTunes Store. Given that Apple just unvieled video on it's U.K. music store, I'm tempted to go with the iPhone rumour.  However, Apple usually does have more then one thing to show off at an event. One thing I'm waiting for is a 3G option for Canada. The majority of our carriers are 3G compaible (Bell/Aliant, Telus,) as well as some regional carriers (MTS and Sasktel) we only have one GSM network operator (Rogers) and as well as FIDO, although it operates as a subsidiary of  Rogers. So really, 3G would be much better in terms of coverage. I was down in a mall the other day and asked a Telus guy if they have EVDO Rev. A coverage in Halifax, which is sweet. So I hope to goodness that they release a 3G version of the iPhone here in Canada. But I guess we'll have to wait and see. 

    Now this might seem like a weird title, all things considered, however this shall be explained in due course, first of all, my mom and I went to see Michael Moore's newest documentry Sicko, which discusses the crisis in the US over the healthcare system, particularly the insurance industry. Moore interviews people who have been victimized people who have had proven procedures (such as bone marrow transplants) blocked by the insurance compani

es due to the fact that the procedure is "experimental" or "unnecessary" when in fact the procedure could mean the difference the difference of life or death. One notable case involves a husband who had kidney cancer and found a match in his youngest brother, however the insurance company denied, this resulted in the death of her husband. To compare the United States, Moore travels to Canada and speaks to both Canadian doctors and citizens on how they feel about they're healthcare system. For the most part, my fellow countryman where quite positive in there opinions on the healthcare system.
    Next, Moore traveled to the U.K. where he interviewed several patients and doctors. He interviews a patient who explains that in the U.K. pregnant women are given 6 months paid leave and then an option for an additional 6 months unpaid leave, which she is taking. He then speaks to a General Practitioner (Family Doctor) who Moore asks if he is poor. He replies that is actually quite well off, making 85,000 British Pounds a year. He has 3 storey home worth almost $1 million USD as well as an Audi, so no, he is not poor. At one point in the movie Moore travels through the British hospital looking for a billing department. He finally finds a teller, however the teller is actually reimbursing patients for travel expenses rather then collecting for bills. (In the U.K. as well as Canada, France and others, heathcare is paid for by heavy taxing.).
    Moore's next stop is Paris, where he proceeds to explain the recent history of spats between the US and France. (Such as the "Freedom Fry" incident back in 2003.) However, the French have excellent healthcare. First an foremost, if you are a French citizen and you are injured or sick, the government will pay for all your care as well as supply 65% of your salary for you to have while you are receiving treatment  and while you are recovering (the employer contributes the  remaining 35%.) And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Under French law, every citizen must receive a minimum of  5 weeks vacation. Not only that but they will give you holidays for moving, for major holidays, even for going on your honeymoon! But wait, there's even more. Say you are a French citizen and you have a child. The government will provide a nanny to look after the children, do your laundry (a running joke throughout the movie.) even cook meal's so that you can attend to your daily tasks and when you finally do return to work, day care for children is heavily subsidized by the government, to the point where the cost of keeping children in a daycare is about $1 a hour.
    Moore's final section of the movie is when he takes several Sept. 11th rescue workers to Cuba, to the US Naval base there to examine the issue that detainees at Guantanamo Bay are receiving better healthcare then American citizens. The movie is interupted by a Homeland Security Logo as US law does not allow them to disclose how they found and reached the base. After they land, they charter a fishing boat and come very close to the military base, only to sound an alarm in which they must land in Cuba (which is illegal under US law) While there, they find a pharmacy and discover the medication is insanely cheap there. A women in the group who requires a special inhaler finds them for they equal value of 5 cents US. The inhaler, under her current health insurrance, costs $120 US. After this, they enter Havana hospital and are cared for Cuban doctors, who are not concerned with money, but with caring for patients. All of the Americans are cared for and many of them have the expensive medications taken away, for the a much simpler medical regiment. 
    I have only covered some of the topics adressed in this documentary. Everyone must see this documentry. Even if you are not fans of Michael Moore, you must understand the current healthcare situation in the United States. This has most certainly been an eye opener for me. All I can say is, boy, am I glad to be Canadian

So a report released today tells up what we mostly already knew- where getting gauged at the pumps. Was this a surprise to anyone? I mean really, when you see that the price of gas is in the $1.30 mark and they're really haven't been any significant events to bring it up, I know I'm getting gauged. And the fact is, the Oil companies are not as poor as they would like us to think. Several of the companies produced record profit's last year, upwards of $40 billion! Something's not right. And the fact is, the government is not helping. They introduced regulation a while back and the fact is, it's not helping. Gas prices still go up and up and down, in that order. I know when I'm being gauged belive me. Such as when you go to buy RAM for your Mac from Apple. Or when you buy a copy of Windows Vista Ultimate. Belive, sometimes, it's painfully obvious.

    Ever had one of those moments in time where two people who are complete opposites come into the same room and time stops? Those two people stare each other down until either one punches the other or one of them will walk out of room. Well that's going to happen this year at a technology conference hosted by the Wall Street Journal and created by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, two of the most well known names in technology. Apperently Mac and PC (aka His Steveness and His Billness) will have a joint session where they will discuss the past and future of the digital of the digital revolution. Can anyone say catfight? I don't think that it'll go that far but I could see them getting into a relatively serious argument. You could call it a PC vs. Mac add in real life.
     In a piece of non-technology related news, Bill Gates and Stephen Harper signed a deal today to build a facility that will develop, manufacture and test vaccines for HIV AIDS and other major pandemic diseases. The Canadian government will contribute $111 million with the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation contributing $28 million. I'm quite happy with this announcement as it brings hope that the world is contributing to HIV AIDS research. The location of the facility hasn't bee announced as of yet, but I'm hoping that it will be located somewhere in the maritimes. Go Bill and Go Government. You did something intelligent for once!

So I'm browsing around the net (now Math free) and I came across this. Anyone want to comment?
    For people who aren't adept to clicking links, it's basically from a professor in Calgary by the name of Michael Keren (Canada, for those of you not familiar with Canadian Geography.) Professor Keren says that blogging is for people who are lonely, who have no friends, who are social deviants etc. I think it's pretty clear that this guy doesn't get the concept of blogging. I know I'm going to sound a bit.....I don't know how to say this....repetitive? Anyway, Blogging is about expressing yourself, about speaking your mind, about giving your views on things. This guy thinks that if you blog, you are completely socially inept. This is not true. I am not socially inept and I've an avid blogger. This professor thinks that if people blog that they will substitute reality. I really don't think that the virtual world will replace the real world. I challenge Prof. Keren to change his heavily biased opinion and actually attempt to blog for say, a period of 3 months. See if you become "socially isolated" anyway, that's my rant for tonight/this morning.  

     So today browsing around the tech media (what else do I do?) I found an article on Neowin about the California Supreme Court has

ruled that Bloggers are not liable for the accuracy of information. In effect, this means that if someone (say me) distributes information that is accurate and someone follows through on that information and say they get injured or something happens to them, and let's say they file a civil or criminal suit against you, they have no case as they can't be held liable. This eliminates the possibility of a blogger being sued for something like loss of property if someone attempts an experiment that is incredibly stupid (like say, blowing up something) if they get in trouble because of that information, and they point the finger at you for giving you that information, you can't be held liable. This entry is a follow up to an entry I did in August on what your rights are as a blogger. You can see the entry here. Basically we have the same rights as jornalists, which means if we bring information to the fore that embarrasses a company  and they bring suit against you,  you cannot be sued. At least in theory. Law is ever changing being challenged and amended by the lawmakers. I would like to see, both in the U.S. and Canada a Bloggers bill of right's included in a Net Neutrality bill that is likely to show it's face next year.

    Today is November 11th. To my American Readers it's Veteran's Day. To Commonwealth Citizens such as myself, it's Remembrance Day. On this day, on the 11th hour, the First World War Ended. Now my Great Grandfather served at Vimy Ridge, on of the most decisive Battle's of the War. Canadians say that Canada went in Vimy as an idea and emerged as a nation. No

w over time we have come to asscociate various missions with Remembrance Day. World War II, Korea, UN Peacekeeping, Afganistan, Bosnia. In all of these campaigns and wars, Canadians have payed the ultimate sacrifice. To All of you who have helped preserve my freedom I thank you for your service.
    Now to adress those people who see our troops as tools of American Imperialism and don't want us in Afganistan. Go away. Get Lost. Go take your poppies and hide in a hole. Your kind is not welcome amoung us. Under Canadian Law, you have the right to pass those White Poppies out, but don't. It's disrespectul. Would you like to be speaking German right now? Because that's what we'd be going right now if it were not for our soldiers. I don't like what's going on in Afganistan either, but it does not give you the right to disrespect those men and women who have died for the cause of freedom. To all those Soldiers in Afganistan: Keep up the good work. You'll be home soon. To all of those who disrespect our troops: Your kind is not welcome in this country.
I finish this post with a famous poem written by John McRae, a Canadian surgeon during the first World War.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

  

This weekend being the Canadian Thanksgiving, I'm headed off, with the rest of my family to see my Mom's side of the family in good old New Brunswick. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. First of all, your in the middle of nowhere. So you have no contact with anyone other than all of the family that's spread out over the next 20 km. I mean I get to sleep in tomorrow which is a good thing and there will be plenty of food, but I really don't like taking my day off from school to drive back down home. An bonus/curse is the fact that my grandparents have a 56K connection. While this is good and will alow me to either using my moblogging, or go directly to the Vox site, it is also a curse in the fact that it's slow. I mean 56 k is slow enough, but it's not even running at that. It's runs at about 28.8 which is even slower. And the thing is your constantly in contact with someone else, so you have no place to be alone with your thoughts. And to top it all of, my little cousin is coming back with us. I don't mind him, but my brother depises him. Anyway I'm being told we have to run. I might post when I get to N.B.
Till then

    Waking up this morning, I turned on the radio as I got dressed. And guess what they where talking about on the radio? Afganistan. See, ever since 9/11 Canadian troops have been in Afganistan hunting down terrorists. At the peak we had 3,000 troops as part of ISAF. Early this summer the Canadian goverment announced we would be staying in Afganstan until 2009. And then all hell broke lose. This year alone we've lost almost 30 soldiers. We're not used to this amount of death in the Armed Forces where we come from. The fact is, Canada is not a work making nation, it's not what we do. Our soldiers are some of the best, yes, but we went into Afganistan unprepared. We have no air cover, no air transport and we have to rely on the Americans for Air Support. And we come second or even third to American  and British troops who are considered more important. Personally, I think we should just get the hell out of there, while we can. I mean, it's not doing us any good with the fact that we're losing soldiers left right and centre. A poll that was just released showed that 59% of all Canadians opposed the mission in Afganistan. I'm not surprised. Practically ever province has lost one or two soldiers, but out here and in B.C. is where we've lost the most.
    I used to support the mission to Afganistan, now I'm not so sure. We'lll see what happens towards the end of this year.