Learning, Technology & Change

Maybe the internet isn't forever after all. New services are popping up to enable you to privately share messages with a select few, and to even have them self-destruct at a given time/interval. Some high-profile people with a penchant for sending pics (looking at you Carlos Danger) should Love this. In the era of domestic surveillance and the realization that most tech companies are complicit is this the silver bullet? Maybe not. Just because it's deleted from public consumption, how long does it take the site's respective crawlers to get it? Accessible and deleted are two different things.  How will FB and Twitter feel about being used less as a publisher and more as a temporary broadcast medium. You might think that's what they were... you would be wrong. The ability to broadcast and store your thoughts, ideas and drunken outbursts for future consumption is a part of their value proposition. Are their respective graphs as valuable without storing everything? If...

One month ago we cut cable - so far so good.  I took this as a personal challenge to make this process as smooth and positive as possible. It still is a change, but with a little prep work it has gone really well so far. Recap: We (a family of 5) cut our Cable TV provider, upped our ISP package and replaced our homephone line with a free VOIP alternative. We also employ a DIY antenna. For a full description of the setup see here . Kids are definitely watching less TV. There are less occasions where the TV sits on as background noise. Those moments of respite where we need to occupy the kids were my biggest concern. More on that later. I'm using subscriptions for TVO's the Agenda and the Big Think so I have something interesting to watch if I was bored. I'm most proud of the fact that we no longer live in the continuous "breaking news" death grip of CP24. I don't need live coverage of the Royal Baby's baptism or first bowel movement. In reality Netflix is...

Droning on and on about cutting the cord some friends who are also feeling squeezed by robellus asked me for details. Maybe it was just to shut me up but i'm going to spell it out anyhow. Basically I swapped my ISP, switched to a no monthly fee VOIP service, cut my cable TV subscribed to netflix and installed an OTA antenna. My main goals were cost savings, and to move off traditional media services. Cable companies are the next record companies the internet age is crushing large clumsy institutions. ISP I switched my ISP to Start.ca a great company out of London ON. They have fantastic customer service in the few times I've called them. I've had no outtages beyond blackouts. $50/mth for 20+mbps down 2mbps up. I'm watching multiple netflix streams without issue. Home Phone I replaced my homephone with a free voip service from Freephoneline.ca. They have a bunch of options, one where you rent an ATA device from there for $5 a month and they provide customer servi...

As Wind, Mobilicity and Public look for exit strategies, the Canadian public will be left with fewer choices and really have no one to blame but themselves. Rogers, Telus and Bell did their job by aggressively retaining customers matching prices - for now. Knowing full well that if they are able to reduce the customers going to the new providers in the short-term once they bleed their initial capital they can get back to their oligopoly. Many called and threatened to go with Wind's great all in packages but in the face of making a change - balked. Perhaps they matched the features or even went a bit cheaper for a year, provided a contract was signed. Our short-sighted thinking  gets us every time. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/technology-video/video-is-the-dream-of-four-strong-wireless-competitors-dead/article11518408/

There was a great article in Macleans last week on how medical sensors are close to being sold to consumers. I have a few hypochondriac friends who will be all over this. Beyond that this could have huge implications for our current healthcare system. So much time and cost is put into minor diagnoses with people clogging up clinics and emergency rooms, convinced they have ebola. This could make a huge difference in wait times and unnecessary diagnoses. Imagine being able to check if the bug you have is bacterial and viral. Will people still want to go to the Dr? Most of the time folks simply want piece of mind. The hospital ER is the best place to rule everything out, but most are willing to clog up a walk-in or their family doctor's office. If you could plug in your smartphone read the throat swab yourself, wouldn't you take that convenience? "So many great apps who's got time to make friends"-Macklemore Being able to get more data on your health throughout...

When was the last time you gave someone an email address and they said "Sorry I don't email." Some folks from a simpler time might not email people. Perhaps they have communications people or assistants for that. However that group is quickly diminishing. There are very few roles that don't benefit from the instant and accessible benefits of electronic mail.Similar there is internet usage, like it or not, Know it or not, everyone uses the internet.   The same can be said for social media. Maybe not today, but that day is coming very soon. Eventually everyone will be involved with social media. To say you don't "facebook" or use that "Social Media stuff" would be to identify yourself as part of the dwindling minority. The ability to get your idea or brand, out to millions of people almost instantly is an incredibly powerful tool. The next step to integrating internet culture is less about just how to use the tools, and more about how...

A great post by Andrew McAfee on the technological obsolescence of car gadgets. In a time where keeping a cell phone for more than 2 years feels painfully long, a touchscreen interface in your car can be asking for trouble. Car companies are trying to use consumer electronic integration as a differentiator. My car has the nav/dvd/jukebox and I love it. However  I plan on  keeping this car for quite some time. That interface will be quite the antique by then when compared to other consumer electronics. My biggest concern with this car is the battery (hybrid) but second to that is the touchscreen has my climate controls, radio Everything. I would have to replace that screen at who knows how much, and being a 3+ year old car it's unlikely there will be an updated interface. If cars were to be more modular we'd need some open interface with rules around it for safety purposes. No movies or attention-grabbing apps should run while the car is docked. Perha...