July 2007 - Posts
After writing my review of Pownce a few weeks ago, I figured I'd never write about the site again. However, after reading an idiotic article published in the New York Times yesterday, I knew I'd have to. Author Jason Pontin had me shaking my head right from the opening paragraph:
JUST now, the hottest startup in Silicon Valley — minutely examined by bloggers, panted after by investors — is Pownce, but only a chosen few can try out its Web site.
Hottest startup in the valley? News to me. Maybe three or four weeks ago. Anyway, let's continue.
Within days, invitations were selling on eBay for as much as $10. Mr. Rose has declined all requests to be interviewed about the service, including my own. But as a consolation, he sent me a coveted invitation. I enjoyed the rare thrill of cyberhipness — and got to experiment with the site.
Coveted? Are you kidding me? Pownce tells me I have nine invites to give out. I've had them for weeks. I am positive I'm not the only one. Sorry Jason, receiving an invite to Pownce is anything but a hip cyber experience.
After some general information and background on Kevin Rose, Jason concludes that media executives should keep an eye on Pownce:
What struck me most was the site’s potential to be powerfully disruptive. Most file-sharing occurs on public sites, which can be monitored by media companies; if the users violate copyrights, the sites or the users themselves can be threatened into compliance or litigated out of existence (as happened with the original Napster). File-sharing on Pownce would be difficult to police.
If I didn't know any better I'd think Jason was trying to make a joke. Because I sure laughed.
The RIAA has sued children, senior citizens, and everyone in-between. They've shut down company after company, and they've successfully petitioned ISPs for records detailing the activities of their subscribers. Somehow I don't think policing Pownce (a system which knows exactly who is sharing what with whom, btw) would be a problem. Evidently Jason hasn't heard of BitTorrent, which actually does make it difficult to police file-sharing (especially with the recent work done on protocol encryption).
I really wish the NY Times would stop publishing useless fluff pieces like this one.
I should mention that my main criticism of Pownce is set to be remedied soon - they are starting an API. Should be available in September, though the undocumented API that their desktop app uses has already been, um, documented.
Twitter announced a round of funding last Thursday, from Union Square Ventures and a few others. Michael Arrington did some digging and is fairly certain the amount was $5 million on a $20 million pre-money valuation. That's not too bad, especially when you consider that Twitter is perhaps most famous for not having a business plan.
No business plan?! It's true. At least no formal business plan. Biz Stone tried to assure everyone last week that the company has in fact thought about a business model, but I am not sure how many people bought it. The investment started a small "you don't need a business plan" meme in the blogosphere, and it really got me thinking...do you need a business plan or not?
Paul Kedrosky says you don't need one, and thinks that "business plans are overrated, and profits perhaps even more so." Don Dodge says that "investors invest in people not business plans." Fred Wilson, one of the investors, admits that they "don't know yet" what the business model will be for Twitter. He claims they have time to figure that out. Charles Hudson says the meme is "crazy talk" and thinks it is worth writing some ideas down. Robert Scoble says that "if you REALLY think you can get funded without having a business plan you're probably smoking something illegal."
After reading dozens of these posts, and looking back at what I learned from the business plan competitions we competed in last year, I've come to the following conclusion: I think business plans are useful for internal use, and mostly a waste of time otherwise.
I think what Charles says in his post makes a lot of sense. There are certain questions that entrepreneurs should answer and write down. Really though, no one needs to see those pieces of paper. When it comes time to market your business or your idea to someone else, you've got to tune your message. And you've got to market yourself more than anything else. That's why it's a waste of time to have a complete, polished business plan (unless you're in a competition I guess). If no one is really going to read it but you, does it matter what it looks like?
I think the trick is to remember that investors are people too. You need to relate to them, and you need to excite them. A heavy, thick document is probably not the best way to do that.
We haven't really updated our business plan since the competitions in 2006. That's partly due to the fact that it's tedious, and partly due to the fact that we haven't had a need to. A smaller executive overview, a quick slide deck, or an actual conversation are far more useful.
There's a difference between a business plan and a business model, however. I still think it's important to have some ideas about how you are going to monetize your product or service. And it's important to know that there really is someone out there willing to pay for whatever it is you've created. Even better if you know who that someone is.
The realization that a traditional business plan is useless simply reinforces the idea that getting face time with investors is important. And for technology, that generally means the United States. Or perhaps BC or Ontario, but definitely not Alberta.
Anyway, just some thoughts. Congrats to Twitter on the funding!
It's almost August already! Here are my weekly notes:
- Saskatchewan is going to be the first province in Canada to launch a widespread, publicly funded wireless network. I can only hope that this means Alberta and the other provinces aren't far behind.
- Goodbye Linksys! Cisco has decided to drop the brand.
- I went to see The Simpsons Movie on Friday night with Megan - it rocked! It was exactly like a normal episode, only slighly longer. It was the top movie this weekend.
- Can you believe that Hilary Duff is dating Mike Comrie? You could do better Hilary. She's looking amazing on the August issue of Maxim though.
- I didn't go to Capital EX or Taste of Edmonton this year. And frankly, I'm not sad about that. I am looking forward to the Fringe though.
- I was walking down Whyte Ave with Sharon on Thursday evening, when I saw this sign out front of a store called Polly Magoo's. It reads: "find us on facebook" - can we call Facebook mainstream now?
Twenty five years ago today, Diet Coke was introduced to the world at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Just four years later, it became the #1 low-calorie sparkling beverage in the world, a title it continues to hold to this day.
I am definitely a fan of Diet Coke. I have been drinking mostly Coke Zero lately, but I enjoy a Diet Coke every now and then. It has a very distinct taste that I think is fairly divisive: either you like it or you don't.
Diet Coke is about more than beverages however:
“Since its launch, Diet Coke has been synonymous with stylish sophistication,” said Katie Bayne, chief marketing officer, Coca-Cola North America. “Through the years, Diet Coke marketing and advertising has reflected and embraced pop culture, and the brand has become a global icon that embodies great cola taste with an undeniable sense of style.”
Ah yes, pop culture. Numerous celebrities have endorsed Diet Coke, and the drink itself has become something of a celebrity recently - along with its good friend Mentos, that is. Oh by the way, if you like the image I included in this post (and who doesn't) then check out the video.
If you have some time to waste, check out the Wikipedia entry for Diet Coke. I had no idea there were so many sub-brands, for instance. Lots of interesting information.
I still haven't seen Diet Coke Plus anywhere, but I'd like to give it a try. Hopefully it shows up in Edmonton soon. Oh and Cherry Coke Zero too.
Happy Birthday Diet Coke!
I just got off the phone with a client service representative at Telus Mobility. The good news is that their support service is still fast and effective, as I mentioned back in May. The bad news is that the Telus network doesn't seem incredibly stable.
Around 9 PM last night, my phone stopped working. I couldn't make or receive any calls, nor could I send or receive text messages. Every attempt was greeted with an annoying "beep beep beep" and text messages just disappeared into the unknown. I was kind of lost without my phone, and I mentioned to Megan that I should almost buy a backup pay-as-you-go phone on another network for precisely this type of thing. She just laughed!
Calls started working again around midnight, but text messaging still was not working this morning. Hence the call to Telus. The service representative asked a bunch of questions, and by the way I was answering, I think she got the hint and asked if this had happened before. I said yes, unfortunately, and asked her to send the clearing message. She did, and also said she was going to "do a reset" which means I have to turn my phone off for twenty minutes. Stange, I know. Hopefully it works.
I wasn't the only one with problems it seems:
I'd like to know what happened, and if it was limited to just Edmonton and area or whether it was more widespread. Too bad they suck at communicating that sort of thing. Telus needs a blog!
I wonder how long it will be until we all have green overload - I am guessing it'll be sooner rather than later. These days, you're simply not hip and with it unless you're proclaiming how environmentally friendly you are. That goes for individuals, companies, and all other organizations too. Trying to cure cancer? Great - so long as you go about it in a "green" sort of way. Okay maybe it's not quite that bad, but it's getting darn close.
Did you know Discovery is launching an entire TV channel dedicated to the green movement? Apparently the New York Times had the story back in April, but I just came across it tonight while reading about Leonardo DiCaprio's latest project:
DiCaprio is set to executive produce “Eco-Town,” a 13-part reality series which will follow state and local officials in their quest to build an ecologically - and economically - sustainable town in Kansas, aptly named Greenburg.
Yep, even famous movie stars need to add a shade of green to their images. No one is safe from the big bad green machine!
A television channel is one thing, but a niche blog is quite another. If the recently launched earth2tech blog doesn't scream "go green or go home" nothing does:
Earth2Tech is a publication devoted to intersection between the tech industry, their eco-moves and the next generation of tech innovation that will combat climate change.
When will it end?
Last week a new organization calling itself the Association for Downloadable Media launched. The ADM aims to provide standards for advertising and audience measurement for episodic and downloadable media. From their press release:
The ADM will focus primarily on the world of podcasting, downloadable media and portable content monetized by advertising and sponsorship. The ADM will create a landscape that facilitates the commercialization of this growing audience.
Monetization of podcasts is a growing opportunity for these parties, and the ADM supports the momentum of this channel through the collective mindshare of its members.
They have sixteen organizations already on board, including Apple and NPR. Individuals can join for $150/year, for corporations the price is $1000/year.
First of all, I'm not sure the organization is needed. Where are all the content creators and advertisers complaining about the lack of standards? Furthermore, none of the member companies are bound to do anything anyway. They can, however, point to the ADM as an example of how they are "participating in and improving" the industry. Take the five "initial" committees they have already created - isn't it kind of early to have such committees? Probably, but it makes them look more legitimate.
More importantly, will the ADM really be able to accomplish anything? Aside from Apple and the NPR, the organizations currently on board are small fish in the grand scheme of things. Yes even venture-backed companies like Podshow, PodTech, and Revision3. What happens when NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox jump into the downloadable media market? Or perhaps even other media outlets like the New York Times? The ADM will drown in the ensuing splash, that's what. The big fish will be able to do whatever they like, regardless of what the ADM has already "standardized."
One other thing - downloadable media is a fairly broad term, don't you think? Fairly ambitious of the group to proclaim themselves the association for such a thing.
I hope I'm wrong. I hope the ADM will accomplish great things. I don't think it's going to happen though. I suspect the ADM will be nothing more than a distant memory come this time next year. Time will tell!
Here are my weekly notes:
- My first week at the new job was good, except I had forgotten how much it sucks to get up at 7 AM every morning! Thank goodness for Starbucks.
- This one is for you Megan: Jon Bon Jovi objects to name of energy drink.
- Don Cherry is now pimping Rayovac batteries. At what point does what's left of his credibility go down the crapper? Maybe it already has.
- I only came across DotNetKicks on Friday. It's like Digg, but for .NET developers!
- Hott4Hill is indeed hot. Not sure if the video helps or harms Hillary though.
- Speaking of politics, here's a great post at the 37signals blog talking about the fact that EVERY presidential campaign logo is red, white, and blue. The candidates want their logos to scream patriotism, but instead they scream uncreative and boring.
- Here's a fun Web Trend Map for 2007. Looks like someone had too much time on their hands!
- Starting this week I am going to be a regular contributor to last100, so if you haven't done so already, subscribe now!
I was pretty sure Kristen Bell wouldn't be cast as Supergirl, but that didn't stop me from hoping! Turns out I was right, she won't be making an appearance on Smallville, as the CW has announced their choice for the role:
Look, up in the sky: it’s a bird, it’s a plane! It’s…Supergirl! This fall, Supergirl will be joining the lineup of burgeoning superheroes and villains in SMALLVILLE.
Laura Vandervoort (The Lookout, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation") has been cast as Kara - Clark's (Tom Welling) 19-year-old cousin.
I don't know much about her, but I think they made a good choice. She's young, hot, and Canadian! Okay she's from Toronto, but still. Her Wikipedia entry is here, and her IMDB profile is here. Her last name has a cool sound to it too, don't you think?
According to IMDB, the first episode of season seven (titled Bizarro) will air on September 28th. Just over two months to go!
Are you ready for Harry Potter mania? I am! And by that I mean I'll happily ignore it just as I have for all the previous books. I haven't read any of them. I've only seen two or three of the movies. It's not that I am anti-Harry Potter or anything, I just (for whatever reason) have never gotten into it.
I do intend to read the books one day, simply because so many other people have read them. It's almost like I am obligated to read them in order to really be part of society or something. I'm fine with that - I always give my best "WTF" look when someone tells me they have never seen Star Wars, and I'd rather not be a hypocrite.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the new book, as I'm sure you know, and it has broken all kinds of records:
Amazon said that as of midnight, it has received more than 2.223 million pre-orders worldwide on its various Web sites, eclipsing the previous pre-order record of 1.5 million held by the sixth book in the series.
Apparently on its busiest pre-order day, Amazon.com received more than 1.75 orders per second. Ridiculous and impressive, all at the same time!
You'll notice the picture above is of The Simpsons - I found it here. I haven't seen the episode, but I guess The Simpsons spoofed Harry Potter in one of the Halloween episodes. Here's a seven mintue clip. Good stuff!
If you're a fan, enjoy reading the book this weekend! If instead you're an indifferent muggle like me, try not to spoil it for the Potter-heads, mmkay?
How many games of checkers can you win in a row before someone beats you? Quite a few? Doesn't matter, eventually you'll lose right? You think, "it's only a matter of time." Well some Computing Sciences researchers at the U of A have figured out why - it's because humans make mistakes. They've solved checkers, completely, and have software that is invicible:
After more than 18 years and sifting through 500 billion billion (a five followed by 20 zeroes) checkers positions, Jonathan Schaeffer and his colleagues have built a checkers-playing computer program that cannot be beaten. Completed in late April, the Chinook program may be played to a draw but will never be defeated.
Their research and "proof" were to be published in today's edition of the journal Science.
This is pretty incredible when you think about it. It speaks to the advances we've made not only with technology, but with our understanding of how to harness it to do things that previously seemed impossible.
I generally consider checkers to be a fairly simple game, but don't let that fool you:
The popular game may be simple to play, but it holds a potential 500 billion billion positions. That's one million times more complicated than any other game solved before, says Jonathan Schaeffer, the computer science professor who began the project in 1989.
Congratulations to Schaeffer and his team! I can't imagine what they'll figure out next.
You'll recall that last week the first post in a two part series I wrote for last100 on Microsoft's Internet TV strategy was posted. I'd say the post did very well, receiving over 20 comments from readers and 300 diggs. Today, part two is up:
The product to keep an eye on is definitely Mediaroom (and Mediaroom on the Xbox 360). There’s a reason Microsoft chose Mediaroom as the brand instead of simply Microsoft TV: they are looking to the future of entertainment, where TV is just one piece of the puzzle.
You can read the entire post at last100, and you can digg it here. As always, let me know what you think!
Here are my weekly notes:
- We published an update to Podcast Spot today. Nothing major, mostly backend stuff. Looks good so far!
- I am so excited for The Simpsons Movie! It's going to be great. Vanity Fair has two excellent interview-style articles about the cartoon this month, here and here.
- There's really only one question you need to ask about the iPhone: will it blend?
- Congrats to Digipede, who won Microsoft's ISV Innovation Partner of the Year. I remember looking at their stuff a long time ago and being really impressed.
- Everyone should know that Canada isn't really a haven for piracy as the record labels and movie studios would have you believe, but just in case, this video explains things.
- I really hope the Republicans do not win the American election in 2008. I mean, just look at this.
- I start my new job tomorrow! I'll be working as a web developer for QuestionMark here in Edmonton.
Yesterday comScore released their global Internet traffic rankings for the month of May. Their research shows that 772 million people worldwide were online in May, which is a pretty large number. Still, as ZDNet notes, that's only 12 percent of the world's population. Here's how the press release reads:
There were 772 million people online worldwide in May (defined as those individuals age 15 or older who accessed the Internet from a home or work location in the last 30 days), an increase from 766 million in April, representing a 16 percent penetration of the worldwide population of individuals age 15 or older.
And further down the page, we find the fine print:
** Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
Seems to me that excluding mobile phones in particular would lead to a much lower number than the true online population. In the developed world, computers dominate access to the Internet, but that's not the case in the developing world!
A quick search led me to this W3C press release (from September 2006):
According to the World Bank, more than two billion people own a mobile phone and 80% of the world's population has access to GSM service. With one million new subscribers every day, almost four billion people will have a mobile phone by the end of 2010.
I suspect the vast majority of those phones are web-enabled. If anyone has a link to usage statistics, let me know in the comments!
If you've been following the news about Windows Live Core, also referred to as "Cloud OS", then today's article at News.com probably is nothing new. Still, it's a good overview of what is known thus far:
In addition to making available its existing services, such as mail and instant messaging, Microsoft also will create core infrastructure services, such as storage and alerts, that developers can build on top of. It's a set of capabilities that have been referred to as a "Cloud OS," though it's not a term Microsoft likes to use publicly.
It's about time.
Just as Windows handles memory management, storage, and other "fundamentals" as Microsoft likes to call them, for your computer, Cloud OS would handle the fundamentals for distributed web apps. Developers can spend less time worrying about how the application will run, and more time building out what the application should do. That's a win-win for everyone.
The most visible company doing this today is Amazon.com with their web services. Services like S3 for storage and EC2 for computing power are tremendously valuable for developers. As I've said before, S3 made a big difference for Podcast Spot, and we'd like to use more services if only they existed.
I know there's going to be pushback, simply because it's Microsoft, but I am happy to finally see more news on Cloud OS. I can't wait until the services are available - competition will explode.
It's a buzzword, and not a very meaningful one at that, but I think this guy has it right:
IMHO, the cloud is the true Web 3.0 - the distributed, ubiquitous web.
Let the Web 3.0 wars being! Microsoft, Google, Amazon, maybe even Yahoo, all competing to provide the best cloud infrastructure for developers to build amazing applications and experiences on top of.
I was fortunate enough to land a guest posting gig over at last100, a blog dedicated to tracking the digital lifestyle. My two part series is about "Microsoft on your telly" and my articles take a look at where Microsoft is and has been in the television market, and where they are going. You can read the first post here. Please let me know what you think!
If you've never heard of last100, check it out. From the About page:
The name last100 refers to what industry insiders call the “last 100 feet” problem, which is the gap between the typical home’s computer and its living-room TV set. Whilst the digital living room is a primary focus, we’ll also be covering other areas of the digital lifestyle (VoIP, portable media, mobile web etc).
I love the name!
Looks like my first post has received a bunch of attention on Digg too, so feel free to digg it (up to 95 diggs right now). All I can say is I am glad the Digg mob is focusing their attention on Microsoft rather than on me!
November of 2005 was an important month for Microsoft developers as Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 were launched. Technically BizTalk Server 2006 was part of the launch too, but it kind of took a backseat to the other two products. I doubt that will happen with the next big launch, coming in February 2008:
Microsoft announced at its partner conference on July 10 that it will launch Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008 together in a single launch on February 27, 2008, in Los Angeles.
Those are three incredibly important products for Microsoft itself, and for Microsoft developers around the world. Combined with Windows Vista SP1, expected to be released alongside Windows Server 2008, it's going to be a very exciting time. I can almost see the free copies of Visual Studio 2008 now...
The above quote comes from Mary Jo Foley's post, titled "Microsoft plans a triple-play". I have to admit, for a moment I half expected to read about Microsoft jumping into competition with AT&T;, Verizon, and others! In telecommunications, a triple play means a bundle of high-speed Internet, television, and telephone services.
Mark your calendars!
The Edmonton Police Service is hardly the most technologically savvy group in the city (I mean just look at their website) but they are now launching a pilot program to "test a fascinating new piece of technology." Yes, while the rest of the world considers the Segway old news, EPS is grinning from ear to ear (careful, link is for a Word file...they don't even have HTML press releases):
In an effort to explore new and innovative methods of community-policing, the EPS is testing this equipment to evaluate its usefulness within Edmonton. Citizens can expect to see EPS officers patrolling on Segways at the Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton, Capital Ex, West Edmonton Mall, and other special events.
The two "vehicles" that Segway donated to EPS for the pilot project are similar to commercially available models but also have emergency lights and a siren. The press release notes that "an officer on a Segway will stand 8 inches above the rest of the crowd and will be able to respond to emergencies in a fraction of the time it would take them on foot." You don't say!
All joking aside, I think this is good news for Edmontonians. Segways likely won't be filling up the sidewalks anytime soon, but they are excellent for specific verticals such as law enforcement. Apparently police in Vancouver, Toronto, and Windsor have also started testing Segways.
Here are my weekly notes - this edition has a "green" theme since Live Earth was yesterday:
- On-demand streams of all the concerts are available at the MSN Live Earth site. It really only works in Internet Explorer, but aside from that, it's a great experience.
- The Wikipedia entry for Live Earth is very informative, and includes a good overview of the event's controversies criticisms. I like the comment Chris Rock made in London: "I think this will do for global warming what Live 8 did for ending world hunger."
- This comic about The Art of Greenwashing is very funny.
- Andrew, this one is for you (and for the other WoW geeks reading this) - a 47 PC, 7 monitor setup for World of Warcraft. Insane. Such a waste of energy!
- Microsoft says the MSN Live Earth site broke all kinds of streaming records, but Dan Rayburn remains unimpressed and says "show me the money."
- Boeing unveiled it's brand new 787 Dreamliner this afternoon. It's billed as "the most environmentally friendly" airplane ever built. I watched the live premiere over the web - too much talking, not enough plane!
- My computer has been running for 25 days now, almost exactly. Bad habit of mine, never turning my computer off! Monitors are set to auto-shutoff, of course.
A couple of weeks ago Tod Maffin was in Edmonton to broadcast and record his video show, todbits.tv. I went down to the Hotel MacDonald to check it out, and it turns out I was the only one in Edmonton who went! What's the deal with that local tech people?!
Anyway, we couldn't get the live stream going, so we went outside to record it. Tod talked about his LG Cherry Chocolate phone, then we did a quick interview about Paramagnus and Podcast Spot.
You can watch the 12 minute video here. Thanks Tod!
Unfortunately, Canadian soliders being killed in Afghanistan and other places around the world is not extremely rare. It's also very sad when it happens, so I'll be honest, I usually skim the headlines. I hadn't even had the chance to do that yesterday morning, however, when I got a call from a CBC reporter looking for a comment on the death of Cpl. Jordan Anderson.
At first I thought she had the wrong number, but after checking out the group she mentioned on Facebook, I realized I did know Jordan. I was really good friends with his younger brother in elementary and junior high, and you could say our families were friends.
Along with five other soliders, Jordan was killed Wednesday when their armoured vehicle struck a massive roadside bomb near Kandahar.
A human interest story about Jordan ran in today's Edmonton Journal:
"I would like to see Afghanistan turn into somewhere I could visit one day," [Jordan] said last January, just days before he left Edmonton for his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.
He was quietly proud of the work he and his colleagues were doing. He genuinely felt he was making life safer and better for Afghans and thus helping rid the country of international terrorism. And, as odd as it might sound in a war zone, Jordan seemed content.
The last time I saw Jordan was many, many years ago. My friend Matt, who is in the Forces and who worked with Jordan, said he was "funny as hell." I get the impression from talking to Matt and reading some of the articles, that Jordan was one of those guys you just wanted to be around.
I feel so sad for Jordan's family, it's such terrible news. I also feel extremely thankful for people like Jordan, who risk their lives every day to make the world a better place for the rest of us.
Thank you Jordan, you will be missed.
I'd like to take a moment to share with you some figures, statistics, and other information about the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. As most of you reading this are probably aware, I live in Edmonton. I was born here, moved away for most of my youth, and have been back since 1998. I love the city, and while it is not without its faults, there are much worse places to live.
- Edmonton is the capital city of the province of Alberta.
- Edmonton is the sixth largest metropolitan region in Canada according to the 2006 Census, with a population of 1,034,945. (Source)
- It is also the northernmost North American city with a metropolitan population over 1 million. (Source)
- The population density of the Edmonton region is just 109.9 persions per square km. This is half the population density of the Calgary region, 1/7 of the Vancouver region, 1/8th of the Montreal region, 1/2 the Ottawa region, and 1/8th of the Toronto region. (Source)
- Edmonton is home to West Edmonton Mall, North America's largest shopping mall, and the third largest in the world. (Source)
- WEM also holds the world record for the largest car park. (Source)
- Edmonton receives 2,289 hours of sunlight each year, making it one of Canada's sunniest cities. (Source)
- There are more than 60,000 full time post-secondary students studying at schools in the Edmonton area. (Source)
- A very impressive 66,000 new jobs are projected to be created in the Edmonton region between 2006 and 2010. (Source)
- Edmonton did not make the 2006 list of most expensive cities in which to live (the list contained 150 cities). Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal all made the list. (Source)
- Edmonton was named the Cultural Capital of Canada for the year 2007. (Source)
- The annual Fringe festival is the largest alternative theatre event in North America. (Source)
- Edmonton's 60,000-plus elm trees make up the largest concentration of disease-free elm trees in the world. (Source)
- Alberta is North America's only rat free area (not including the territories). (Source)
- Edmonton has 225 kilometers of designated bikeways, and 41 off-leash parks to walk with your dog. (Source)
- The River Valley park system is the longest urban park in North America, 21.7 times larger than New York's Central Park. (Source)
- Edmonton is home to five professional sports franchises, including the very successful Edmonton Oilers and Edmonton Eskimos. (Source)
- Air quality in Edmonton is rated as good (the best level) at least 90% of the time for any given year. (Source)
- Edmonton leads the nation in effective waste management. For example, the city's curbside recycling program has reduced by 60% the waste sent to landfills. (Source)
- Edmonton is down right beautiful at times, as you can see in the thousands and thousands of photos available at Flickr. (Source)
I could go on, but that's a good start.
I look at #4, the population density, as a good thing. It may be a negative thing for hockey players and other celebrities seeking anonymity, however. One other negative that comes to mind is that we have a relatively high homicide rate, though it's not as bad as rural regions of Alberta. Aside from that, what's so bad about Edmonton?
Why do the wives of hockey players not want to live here? Is it just that Chris Pronger and Michael Nylander married nutcases, or is there more to it?
I don't get it. However, unlike a lot of folks out there, I don't think the blame falls entirely on Kevin Lowe's shoulders. There's got to be more to it. I'll have more on this at SportsGuru this weekend, and I suspect my Dad might too.
What's missing?
Wow, just wow. I went to see Transformers last night, and I left the theatre damn impressed. Keep in mind that I'm not a Transformers geek. I never played with the toys, nor did I watch the cartoon. Thus, it would have been hard for me to be disappointed about "staying true to the story" or something like that. Turns out even the big fans loved the movie though. Take Justice, for instance:
I will be proselytizing this movie to random strangers starting tomorrow; I won't stop until the entire world recognizes how great this film was. If you were ever going to do Transformers as a live-action film, this would be how to do it.
Don't listen to the critics, listen to the audience. I'll echo what Justice said: go see the movie, you'll like it.
I read the Wikipedia entry for the movie the other day, the most interesting part of which is the section on the development of the film. Fans of Steven Spielberg (such as myself) will notice his stamp all over the film. Alien comes to earth, finds boy. Boy is afraid at first, then develops a relationship with alien. Boy is only the only one who can understand alien. Later, alien is near death, boy is heartbroken. Sound familiar? It should. A large part of the storyline in Transformers might as well have been lifted right from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. And that's not a bad thing.
Anyway, here are some comments:
- I didn't expect the movie to be funny, but there was some clever humor injected throughout!
- Awesome action sequences, just incredible. Though if you've seen the trailer, you've seen a lot of the major eye-candy-scenes. Still, the CGI in this movie is breathtaking.
- Not one, but two incredibly attractive women in this movie: Megan Fox and Rachael Taylor.
- Shia LaBeouf was incredible. Looking forward to more movies with him as the lead.
- I suppose one negative is that the movie could be taken as an extended commercial for GM.
- Great music, both original and included. The new Linkin Park stuff was featured pretty heavily.
- Don't let the length (144 mins) deter you from seeing the film. Like Pirates 3, it did not feel that long.
Apparently two sequels have already been greenlit, with Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox on board for both. I'd go see more Transformers movies! Heck, I'd go see this one again!
I took a class at the University last year called Literary Computing (ENGL 304) which examined "the applications and implications of computing technology to the three pilars of literary studies: reading, researching, and writing." One of the things we talked about at length was information preservation. If I remember correctly, the class was split right down the middle with half thinking that our digital world was bad for preservation and the other half feeling the opposite was true. As you might expect, I was in the latter group.
I was reminded of the class today when I read this article in BBC News:
The growing problem of accessing old digital file formats is a "ticking time bomb", the chief executive of the UK National Archives has warned.
The National Archives, which holds 900 years of written material, has more than 580 terabytes of data - the equivalent of 580,000 encyclopaedias - in older file formats that are no longer commercially available.
I fail to see the issue. Is it not the job of the National Archives to ensure that documents and historical information are preserved? And that the public can access such information? Of course it is. Instead of complaining every couple of years about the pace of technological change, why not do something about it? There's only a "ticking time bomb" if you sit back and do nothing.
Part of the problem is the way archivers look at digital media versus paper:
Ms Ceeney said: "If you put paper on shelves, it's pretty certain it is going to be there in a hundred years. If you stored something on a floppy disc just three or four years ago, you'd have a hard time finding a modern computer capable of opening it."
That's true, as long as you store the paper properly. And that position fails to take into account the advantages of digital media over paper: searching, indexing, encrypting, etc. That's the trade-off. If archivers were really interested solely in preservation, why not just print everything out on to paper and store that? Clearly more is desired. As with most everything, to get more out, you have to put more in. In this case, that means more effort to take advantage of better functionality.
I don't understand how the National Archives (and other similar organizations around the world) can claim that some digital documents have been lost forever because programs which can read them no longer exist. Has Microsoft disappeared? Is it impossible to install Windows 3.1 on a computer to open documents? Heck, why not just hire some programmers to write new conversion tools? USB floppy drives can be purchased for around $15. Older drives that read 5.25" floppy disks haven't vanished from the face of the earth. It's simply a matter of effort and determination (and money). This "we give up" attitude makes me sick.
If you shred a piece of paper, or douse it in water, it's damn near impossible to recover. Have a digital file in a really old format? It might be difficult to recover, but it's certainly not impossible. It's all zeros and ones, after all.
That is why I took the position I did in my ENGL 304 class, and why I still haven't changed my mind.
I was surfing around Yahoo! News yesterday when I came across this story: 7-Elevens become Simpsons 'Kwik-E-Marts'. How awesome is that? Eleven locations in the US and one in Canada have been converted to Kwik-E-Marts, selling things like Buzz Cola, KrustyO's cereal, and Squishees. There's a wicked photoset at Flickr that shows just how detailed these real-life Kwik-E-Marts are.
John Biehler visited the Coquitlam, BC location yesterday (lucky bastard):
One thing that struck me (and that others have posted about) is the lengths they went to do it right….it’s easy enough to slap a few posters up for a big movie but to transform an entire store to something as beloved as a Kwik-E-Mart is pure genius.
Agreed. This is one of the best movie promotion ideas ever! Too bad I won't get to see one of the Kwik-E-Marts in person. The movie opens July 27th.
I've decided that I am going to switch my blog to WordPress. I am running Community Server 1.1 at the moment, and while it works well enough I know I'd be happier with WordPress. When I have time and have solved the issues with doing such a switch, I'll make the move.
There's a very large, very vibrant, and very active community surrounding WordPress. For example, it's rare to find a blogging tool that supports Community Server - all of them support WordPress. Ditto for widgets and other third party services. Most of all though? WordPress just works the way I want it to.
I've used .Text and Community Server for this blog (and DasBlog waaaay back in the day). Blogosphere.ca is still running .Text if you can believe it. My Dad's blog and the SportsGuru blog we co-author run on MovableType. I've played with Blogger, LiveJournal, Windows Live Spaces, and other hosted engines. I've seen WordPress used over the last couple years, and was particularly interested when Scoble switched. I started using WordPress quite extensively a couple weeks ago when I started WindowsMediaBlog.com. It became clear to me very quickly that WordPress is the way to go. Easy to setup and configure, easy to manage.
These are the goals I have for the switch:
- All posts, comments, trackbacks, etc. migrated to WordPress.
- All existing URLs will continue to work. The switch shouldn't break anything.
- Existing content will be "cleaned up" a bit (tags stripped and stored in the database using a widget, for example).
I've looked around a little, and have come to the conclusion that the only way to achieve these goals is to write some code. WordPress cannot import from Community Server, and an RSS feed isn't flexible enough to include comments and trackbacks. BlogML is promising, and it might help to an extent, but only with #1. If anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear from you!
My blog will likely be the last that I'll switch to WordPress, actually. EclecticBlogs, SportsGuru, and the Blogosphere.ca blogs will all be migrated first, in varying degrees (Blogosphere will likely be a fresh start using WordPress MU and a static archive of what currently exists). By the time I get to my blog, I should be an expert!
Thoughts? Suggestions? I'm all ears! I'll share my migration experiences here as I go.
I mentioned in my last notes post that I'd write about Pownce, so here it goes. Nothing can top the iPhone in the hype department, but Pownce has come close recently. And unfortunately for Kevin Rose and his crew, it doesn't live up to any of it, unlike the iPhone (note: I don't have one). Ted was a little mean over at uncov, but for the most part I have to agree with him.
Let me get this out of the way right now - I really like Twitter, but I've been just as annoyed as everyone else with their crappy service at times. It has gotten much better lately though. And my first impression upon hearing about Pownce was - what does it do for me that Twitter or Facebook or instant messaging doesn't already do?
Here are some thoughts on Pownce:
- It works kind of awkwardly in Opera. Scrolling is not smooth, and clicking on the "home" button at the top takes way too much effort (you have to be right on the text or something).
- Spam. By default, Pownce thinks it's cool to send an email to your inbox each time something happens. Problem is, you have to click through to see any details.
- Crazy invites! Who are all these people that have requested to be my friend? I have accepted them all, but I only know a few of them. This hasn't happened to me with Twitter.
- Maybe I am blind, but I don't think Pownce has ever heard of RSS. I'm surprised their blog has an RSS feed. Seriously, why can't I subscribe to anything?
- Lack of mobile support. That's the second best thing about Twitter as far as I am concerned, so it sucks that Pownce is web/desktop-only.
- The best thing about Twitter is the API - Pownce doesn't have one.
- The file sharing feature of Pownce strikes me as a solution looking for a problem.
Honestly, Pownce is a horrible attempt to aggregate the functionality of a bunch of services into one place. Twitter is better for messaging (heck so is IM). Email/IM is better for sending files to individuals, services like box.net do multiple people. Facebook is better for creating a network of friends, and for creating and sharing events. del.icio.us is better for sharing links.
And here's the thing: I already use all of those services, so why would I switch to Pownce? It would have to be ten times better than all of those services to make it worthwhile. It's clearly not.
Sorry folks, but if it weren't for Kevin Rose, Pownce wouldn't have received a fraction of the attention it has thus far. I realize I am contributing to that attention, but I see this post as a sane reply to these idiotic ones. Two of the authors of those posts admitted their gut feeling was to hate Pownce. My advice? Learn to trust your gut.
Another thing: who gives a shit what technology Pownce was written in? Only the very geeky will know what django is. Twitter had the same problem - who cares that it's written using RoR? Make it work dammit. And to anyone who thinks Pownce will get tons of people to install Adobe AIR - get a grip! AIR will be installed very widely, yes, but it won't be because of Pownce. I'm all for getting my geek on, but shiny new web frameworks distract from having a solid, usable product.
One more thing (heh I sound like Steve Jobs...): why not use Leah Culver (Pownce's lead developer) to your advantage, Pownce? If her photo appeared in every Pownce review I've read, or on every page of the site, I might feel better about the service. Heh, sorry for getting chauvinistic, but come on, I'm trying to find something that would get me to use Pownce. And besides, would you rather look at Leah or Kevin? Thought so. Maybe that's what we need for Podcast Spot - an attractive, female lead developer. Hmm...
Okay, that's it. If for some reason you're dying to try Pownce, I have some invites left, just send me your email.
UPDATE: I just found some feeds! Turns out you have to visit someone's public profile to see an RSS icon of any kind. Dumb!
I just read on Mashable about the CBC's Great Canadian Wish List project. I hadn't heard about it until now, but apparently the CBC created a Facebook group asking users to vote on their top 30 wishes. Mashable explains:
More than 16,000 people responded to the questions posed on this Facebook group, says the TV network, thus confirming that Canadian college kids are largely Christian right wingers. The results, of course, have no basis in fact: the Facebook voting has been hijacked by a group of conservatives involved in mass voting.
Abolish abortion? Restore the traditional definition of marriage? Bring about a spiritual revival? Are you kidding me? Do those "wishes" sound like something you'd expect from the largely secular, technology-savvy youth of our nation? I don't think so. And sure, I'm painting with a broad brush here, but I don't think I'm wrong.
I am kind of insulted that CBC acknowledges these "results" as news. I hardly think it is representative of Canadians in general. Their blog post makes no attempt to suggest that the results are highly unscientific. Did anyone at CBC think this through before going ahead? I applaud the use of Facebook, but seriously, do it right.
Very pathetic, CBC. Way to completely ignore your mandate.
Here are my weekly notes:
- Happy Canada Day everyone! A very impressive 140 years.
- I have five Pownce invites to give out. Leave a comment with your email or contact me if you want one. I'll write about the site later...not that impressed.
- The Oilers traded captain Jason Smith as well as Joffrey Lupul to the Flyers for Joni Pitkanen and Geoff Sanderson earlier today. The Rangers picked up both Gomez and Drury, leaving Smyth as one of the few remaining "big" names available (as of right now at least). I don't think he's coming back to Edmonton though.
- Here is the iPhone disassembled.
- Another really cool "world statistics" visualization, this one with deaths broken down by cause.
- Open-air urinals are coming to Whyte Avenue. I doubt they will be very effective, but you never know.
- Rolling Stone article on the decline of the music industry.
- I decided to give Google Reader a try this week. I like that it works in Opera - it feels snappier than the NewsGator Online beta too.