Category Archives: bidness

Harper Giveth (to the commercial broadcasters), And Harper Taketh (from the CBC)

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Our favourite moron is giving $150 million to private broadcasters, but is forcing the CBC to decimate its workforce by some 800 heads.  If we had any doubts of the Harper government’s agenda to put down the CBC, they’ve now been put to rest.

I don’t know about you, but I’m livid.  Clearly Harper missed the class where they explained the difference between public organizations and private enterprises.  If the private businesses can’t make it through these tough times, I say let them die, and allow new, more agile businesses take their place.  Not only are you delaying the inevitable, but you’re squandering public moneys.

As forests need the occasinal forest fire to renew and replenish themselves, to allow newer, more vital growth to take the place of the old growth, so too does business need to make way for newer businesses, with new business models and methods.  The world is changing, and we need innovation in every facet of our country, including the boardroom.

The other point which is blatantly obvious to the public, in spite of how gullible this government might believe us to be, is that with this “grant” to the private broadcasters, they’re now indebted to Harper and his minions.  Their journalistic integrity has been compromised.  I can no longer trust their judgement.

One of the victims of the CBC’s forced cull, has been Jesse Brown and his very excellent Search Engine podcast.  But in this case the story has a happy ending: TVO has picked up the show!

You can find the feed at this URL: https://feeds.tvo.org/tvo/searchengine.

(Nota bene: I had a terrific picture of Harper eating the CBC, which I’d spent a couple of hours on with Photoshop.  But it wasn’t backed up, so I lost it with Bender the first.)

Remix Manifesto a Must-See

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RiP: A Remix ManifestoI’d heard about RiP: A Remix Manifesto on CBC’s very excellent Search Engine podcast a couple of weeks ago.  I’m not sure how it bubbled up (probably through Facebook), but I ended up going to see it at the Royal on opening night with Morty and Bebe.

WARNING: You will come out of this movie hating the Disney Corporation with the red-hot intensity of a thousand suns.  (You know… if you didn’t already.) Continue reading →

Net Neutrality: Tell the CRTC How You Feel

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crtc2009The CRTC is in the process of gathering comments on Net Neutrality from Canadians, in preparation for their hearings on the subject this summer.  Now is your oportunity to let your voice be heard on this important subject.

Our friends at SaveOurNet.ca have set up a handy form to send your thoughts on the matter to CRTC Chairman Konrad von Finckenstein.  They’ve even provided you with a very well crafted default letter (which you can easily edit, or override), in case you don’t have time to write one yourself.  The deadline is Feb. 16, 2009, so don’t delay!

Update: According to Mediacaster Magazine, the deadline has been extended by a week, to Feb 23.

National Do Not Call List a Crock

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DNCLAs previously reported, I proudly registered my phone numbers on the National Do Not Call List the day it went live.  Since then I’ve received the usual number of telemarketing pitches from the usual assortment of crooks, swindlers and Conservatives.

In each case, I submitted a complaint about them at the DNCL website, but haven’t heard boo back.  (There is a checkbox to specify that you’d like to know the outcome of the complaint.)

Today I noticed a link to verify your registration on the list.  I checked mine, and what do you know?  It wasn’t registered.  All this time, I thought Bell and the CRTC had my back.  Guess they showed me, huh?

So I re-registered my number.  But it takes 24 hrs for it to “take” in the database.  Then, of course, it’s another 31 days before the telescum have to respect the Do Not Call request.

How long are we going to have to endure the ineptitude and incompetence of the CRTC?

butterscotch.com: My New Favourite Flavour

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butterscotch.comI’ve been kept very busy over the past couple of months setting up butterscotch.com: Tucows’ new video network, brimming with terrific videos, short and long, providing tips, tricks and insights into technology for pros and tyros.  Our new team includes tech media veterans Andy Walker, as General Manager and Executive Producer; Amber MacArthur, Director of Content; Sean Carruthers and Matt Harris, Senior Producers; and Andrew Moore-Crispin, Web Editor.  In addition to our existing Tucows team, that’s a lot of talent coming together.

Our current line-up consists of regular shows, such as Andy and Sean’s Lab Rats, and Cheryl Poirier’s spin-off, Miss Download; as well as standard and special tutorials.  Tutorials are screen captured how-to’s with a voice over.  Special tutorials are a series of ten or so episodes on a particular topic.  For example, the two special tutes we have on offer right now are Facebook for Grownups and Gmail for Beginners.

We do have other shows already on the site, and many more are coming, so check back often at butterscotch.com, or better yet, subscribe to the RSS feed.

The challenges, for me, in putting the site together, were:

  • slicing up the composite and creating the base page (HTML and CSS) (got a lot of Photoshop help from Joan, our graphic artist at Tucows)
  • establishing single signon between butterscotch and Tucows.com
  • creating the backend CMS (content management system), where Andrew maintains the content which appears on the site

Of course, we’re not done yet.  We’re still developing new and terrific functionality, and figuring ways to integrate the butterscotch and Tucows content.  It’s all about bringing more value to our visitors and authors.

Sure developing the site was a marathon of long days and late nights, and it kept me from family and blogging, but this is the sort of challenge which stretches your abilities and forces you to find new insights into your work.  I loved it.  I wouldn’t want to do it again real soon; but I loved it.

National Do Not Call List Goes Live

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Finally!  The CRTC’s Do Not call List, as implemented by our friends at Bell Canada, throttlers of Internet feeds everywhere, has gone live today.  Then keeled over and died because Canadians across the nation pounced at the opportunity to shield themselves from the nefarious effects of telemarketers.

If you want to register, and I recommend you do, you can reach the website at https://www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/ or call one of these toll-free numbers: 1-866-580-3625 or 1-888-362-5889.  Telemarketers will then have 31 days more with you, then they need to stop.

Update: By mid-afternoon, on the first day of the DNCL, over 1.2 million phone numbers had been registered.

Sick Kids Doesn’t Want My Money

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Last weekend, an earnest young lady named Taylor Lewis knocked on my door.  She was wearing a Sick Kids Hospital vest, and had a special tag hanging on a lanyard around her neck, identifying her as a certified agent of the hospital, empowered to represent the institution for the purposes of collecting donations.  I listened to her enthusiastic descriptions of the good works the hospital was engaged in, and how the benefits of their highly successful research extended far beyond their walls, to other hospitals, and other countries.

She answered my questions forthrightly, and I was prepared to donate twenty bucks.  Why not?  As she showed me the form, it was evident they were looking for monthly donations, rather than a one time hit.  Sure.  That made sense.  Fund raising is an expensive proposition.  If you take a one time donation, you have to start all over again the next day.  But if you find people prepared to donate monthly, it’s an ongoing revenue stream. Continue reading →

What I’ll Tell Ken Dryden

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Over a month ago I contacted Ken Dryden’s riding office to arrange a meeting with my Member of Parliament.  I expected to see him within a week or two; I’d tell him of my concerns related to various issues of the day, and he’d take that into consideration when he returned to Ottawa.

But no.  It’s been over a month, and I don’t even have an appointment yet.  I was told his office had been flooded, and was currently being renovated.

If my office were flooded and needed to be renovated you can be sure I wouldn’t wait for the renovations to be completed before seeing my clients and assuring them I’m still on the job; that they can count on me to continue getting things done for them.  That it was business as usual.  I wouldn’t let a small matter like a bit of water get in the way of the important work I’m doing for them.

But hey, I’m not a politician. Continue reading →