Category: Uncategorized

Interview with CJSR tomorrow

Post ImageTomorrow afternoon sometime between 5:30 PM and 6:00 PM MST I’ll be doing a live interview on CJSR, which you can find on your FM dial at 88.5 or online at their website. I’ll be answering questions and talking about Humanities 101, the non-profit started by my friends Sharon and May to help promote and make post-secondary-style education available for people in Edmonton’s inner-city. I joined the group a little over a year ago, and have quite enjoyed it! I really think we’re doing something great for the city, and I hope we can continue to do so.

While we have had much success thus far, we want to improve and move things forward, so we’re holding a “Town Hall” event at the University on Monday to brainstorm and share ideas. If you’re interested in attending, please email us. Or if you’re unsure, listen tomorrow as I try to explain why it’s a good idea for you to come! We’re always looking for volunteers, instructors, and feedback from interested individuals and organizations.

As an aside, I realize that our website is very simplistic at the moment – it’s on my todo list! Hopefully we’ll have something much better up there soon.

Read: CJSR

Ready to Rock the Launch!

Post ImageToday was Edmonton’s turn to host the Launch Event 2005, Microsoft’s big push around the release of Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005 and BizTalk Server 2006. The completely booked event took place all day today at SilverCity in West Edmonton Mall with TechNet leading the morning sessions and MSDN taking over in the afternoon. All in all I’d say that things went very well!

There are so many new technologies and features in the three products that cramming them all into a one day event is impossible. I think the speakers (both from MSDN and TechNet but particularly from MSDN) did an excellent job of sharing just enough. It wasn’t fluff, but it wasn’t over-your-head crazy either. Over the next few months there will be many more events around these technologies so that developers and IT professionals can dive in a little deeper. Fortunately, everyone received complimentary software today too, so there’s no excuse not to get your feet wet if you attended!

Edmonton is only stop #3 on the ten city tour, so I wish the MSDN and TechNet teams luck as they continue their trek across Canada. I know the snow last night probably wasn’t the warmest welcome we could have given them, but that’s what you get for hosting an event in Edmonton in November!

I took a one picture today, which you can see in my Flickr stream – lots of developers! There are more pictures and info up on Sasha’s blog too. For members of the Edmonton .NET Wizards, or for anyone who’s interested in joining, please share your feedback on the wiki!

Read: MSDN Canada

Another Reason Why Apple Sucks

Post ImageThere are many reasons to love Apple, and yet many more to hate them too. An article I came across today falls into the latter category (and actually, I noticed this at the Portable Media Expo over the weekend):

iPodder Lemon was a free application distributed under the General Public License, or GPL, that allows users to manage their podcasts–audio and video programs downloaded from the Internet to an MP3 player.

The application’s developers say Apple’s legal team asked the open-source group to drop the name of the software because it suggested a connection to the company’s flagship iPod device. The developers have changed the name of the product to Juice.

What is happening here? Apple is not protecting their intellectual property. I don’t believe the average user would confuse the iPod with iPodder Lemon. I also think that iPodder Lemon probably contributed to some sales of the iPod, in fact helping Apple. What’s happening here is that Apple is using their big-company muscle to try and own the idea of “podcasting” in the minds of consumers. Anything related to the iPod, they seem to want to control.

There is a fine line between protecting your trademarks and brands, and bullying applications, devices and services that are part of your ecosystem. I think Apple crossed the line this time! In any case, Juice will continue to be a great application I’m sure, despite the name change setback.

Read: CNET News.com

Still in Calgary

Post ImageWell as some of you are aware, and as Dickson posted, we’re still in Calgary. I knew that leaving from Calgary instead of Edmonton would be a problem, and it turns out that we missed our flight, for a variety of reasons. After evaluating all of our options (because the later flight was booked solid, so we couldn’t get bumped), and after some great help from our travel agent (thanks Wendy!) we found a flight leaving Calgary early tomorrow morning to LA. Once there we’re going to rent a car and drive to Ontario, which means we should hopefully arrive just after the Expo floor opens at 10 AM.

We’re quite excited about the Expo, despite the travel problems we encountered today! I am really looking forward to meeting podcasters, listeners and others. And I’m also looking forward to sharing our products and services.

So we’re slightly delayed, but that won’t stop us!

Get Visual Studio Express FREE

Post ImageThe official launch date for Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 was yesterday – I’ve been waiting a long time! Congrats to the teams for getting everything shipped. And there’s good news for novice, hobbyist and student programmers too – you can get the Express tools for free:

We originally announced pricing of Visual Studio Express at US$49. We are now offering Visual Studio Express for free, as a limited-in-time promotional offer, until November 6, 2006. Note that we are also offering SQL Server 2005 Express Edition as a free download, and that this offer is not limited to the same promotional pricing period as Visual Studio Express.

If you’ve ever wanted to start playing around with .NET or ASP.NET or anything else that Visual Studio can help you do, this is a great opportunity. Download sizes range from 35-70 MB (excluding SQL Server 2005 Express) and you can choose your edition here. Happy coding!

Read: Visual Studio Express

Starbucks Eggnog Latte

Post ImageI really don’t like how stores start playing Christmas music and displaying decorations the day after Halloween, but one thing I do like is that Starbucks starts serving their Christmas drinks around this time of year. I am currently drinking my favorite, the Eggnog Latte, but they also have a Gingerbread Latte and Peppermint Mocha as part of the Christmas drink lineup. I am a complete eggnog addict, so this latte just hits the spot.

The barista told me that the red Christmas cups and all the other decorations and stuff will be arriving on November 10th. She also said that in many major cities in the US, they are leaving red cups on cars and other places with gift certificates (or something to that effect). I guess I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled when we’re in California this weekend.

My new phone!

Post ImageNo longer will I be the target of “old phone” jokes! Today I finally replaced my aging Motorola Timeport with a brand new Motorola V710 (yes I happen to like Moto phones). I got the Timeport back in high school, and at the time it was a top of the line phone. It has served me well over the last 6 or so years, but lately the battery life has deteriorated, and it had started making weird buzzing noises. That and I’ve replaced the antenna twice already. Reception isn’t as good as the newer phones, and let’s face it, for someone who’s supposedly so technically inclined my Timeport was bad for the image!

My phone number is the same, in case you’re wondering. Here are some of the features of my new phone:

  • Bluetooth support!
  • Voice activated calling
  • Built-in 1.3 Megapixel digital camera with 4X digital zoom, and it captures video too
  • Speakerphone, MP3 player, picture, text and video messaging, etc.
  • Trimode, full color display and color outer display

I also picked up a Motorola HS820 Blueooth Headset today, and it works amazingly well with the phone. I can make and answer phone calls without ever touching the actual phone itself! It’s like geek heaven! I am also planning to pick up a USB Bluetooth adapter for my Tablet PC which should enable me to record audio using the headset (and talk on Skype) – will be an interesting podcasting application.

There are so many features on the new phone, it will take me a while to digest them. It comes with a number of different ring tones, unlike my old Timeport which had only one! However, as I said in my ring tones post, I just like simple ring tones, so that’s what I have it set to (actually vibrate and then ring). I’ve only had the phone for a few hours, but I already have some favorite features. One is the voice activated commands – very accurate. Another is the calendar which is avaiable with a single button press – so handy!

I feel like I have entered the modern age now. I can finally send and reply to text messages without loading up and navigating a clumsy browser interface!

Microsoft Live – all about services

Post ImageTo truly understand what the new Windows Live and Office Live services are all about, you need not look any further than Microsoft itself. Thanks to the magic that is Robert Scoble, we get a very honest description:

Yesterday will be remembered not because of what we announced. But because of the direction we’re now headed in.

Microsoft is no longer an applications company. It is a services company.

Don’t get caught up in the badly-pulled-off demos yesterday. There is something a lot deeper happening inside Microsoft than that.

That’s important to understand. People do not remember the famous Bill Gates Internet Memo as the day Microsoft decided to integrate Internet Explorer into Windows (though that was certainly a result). Instead, that infamous memo is remembered as the day Gates and Co “got” the Internet. I expect yesterday’s announcement will be remembered in much the same way.

That said, they still launched a product yesterday, and at first glance, it sucked. How could they release a web-based service that doesn’t work in anything other than IE? Scoble has an answer for that too:

So, when you see Microsoft not supporting Firefox out of the gate, you are seeing that we don’t get the role of influentials in gathering audiences.

Just imagine if Microsoft both understood “the role of influentials” and had Robert Scoble on the payroll!

Microsoft Live

Post ImageMicrosoft made a fairly big announcement today in San Francisco. Some will say this is Microsoft playing catchup or follow the leader, others will say this is Microsoft innovating, and still others will say this is simply Microsoft making make a smart business move. I think I fall into the latter camp. Here are the details:

Kicking off what he called the “live era” of software, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said on Tuesday that the company plans to launch new Internet-based complements to its core products.

Gates said Microsoft is working on two products, “Windows Live” and “Office Live,” that create opportunities for the company to sell online subscriptions and advertising. Both are targeted at smaller businesses and consumers.

Services like Windows Live and Office Live have been expected for a very long time, so I can’t say the announcement is earth shattering. It will have very far reaching effects though. Joe Wilcox has a couple of good posts where he explains what “Live” is, and what “Live” is not. Here’s my favorite “not”:

While Google might be a catalyst in Microsoft’s services strategy, the reasons for launching Live are much broader than the search rival. Microsoft is looking to accomplish a couple things: For MSN, the new services are a way to drive additional revenue–whether from advertising or paid services–off clearly identified market segments, small businesses for Office Live and active online consumers for Windows Live. For Windows and Office, Microsoft hopes to generate greater customer value and make new-version Office and Windows upgrades more appealing. MSN has done a tremendous job cranking out new products and services, well ahead of the long Office and Windows development cycles. The point: If Google didn’t exist, Microsoft probably still would have embarked on a services strategy.

I expect that “copying Google” or “defensive move against Google” will be the most commonly assumed reasons for the new Live services, but I agree with Joe. There’s a lot more to Live than Google, and let’s face it, Windows and Office services over the Internet were pretty much inevitable.

A few people have asked me what “Live” means. While I see Microsoft’s reasoning for tying into Office and Windows brands, I’m skeptical of Live’s appeal. Live certainly doesn’t grab me, and, yes, there is uncertainty about what it means. Is it supposed to mean the living Web? Maybe community or safety? I’ll let Microsoft answer that question.

Did “Windows” grab anyone when it was released? How about “Office”? (Though I suppose both of them described intuitively their respective functions.) I’ll admit that Microsoft has some absolutely terrible product names, but I think the simplicity of Windows Live and Office Live will work well for the company.

Not much word on the developer side of things yet, if there is such a side. As a platforms company, you would expect Microsoft to offer access to the new “Live” platform. Certainly Gadgets and some of the other Vista-era technologies will be important, but details are yet to emerge.

I’ll probably have more to say on “Microsoft Live” later – it’s a lot to digest, even if it was expected.

Gomery Report – what a joke!

Post ImageThe big news in Canada today was the release of the much anticipated Gomery report, which was supposed to finally explain the sponsorship scandal and lay blame against those responsible. Unfortunately, I fear that $32 million of taxpayers money (which is 1/8 of the total scandal amount) has been wasted as the Gomery report was revealed to be nothing but a joke.

How on earth could the Finance Minister have no idea what was going on? If it has to do with money, should he not be aware of it? I like Paul Martin (maybe more a year ago than I do now) but even I am not so daft as to think he had no idea. Not even an inkling, Mr. Gomery? I mean get real! Same goes for Mr. Chrétien, who I think was a great Prime Minister despite the scandal. No evidence to suggest that Chrétien knew what was going on? Again, get real!

“Since Mr. Chrétien chose to run the program from his own office, and to have his own exempt staff take charge of its direction, he is accountable for the defective manner in which the sponsorship program and initiatives were implemented,” Gomery said.

Chrétien said Gomery falsely determined that the office of the prime minister administered the sponsorship program.

“There is no evidence before him to support that allegation,” Chrétien said.

Perhaps the biggest joke of all? No one is going to read it, and most Canadians simply don’t care. I happened to watch Global National tonight, and despite the government charging $49 for a copy of the report, the TV show couldn’t give a copy away (some guy finally took it, no doubt to burn with glee). Canada’s free daily Dose even hired actors to read the report aloud, though passersby didn’t seem to notice.

Now we wait for a February/March election and the second report from Mr. Gomery, unless the NDP decide to join the other opposition parties and press for an election before Christmas. I think we should move to a US-style election. Under that system, the petty fighting between parties would be sidelined as one party is in charge for four years regardless. And when that term is up, you’ve got a real chance to keep them or dump them. The current “call an election when it best suits us” system is stupid.

Read: CBC News