There has been lots written on the cost of wireless costs in Canada. Tom Purves wrote a great article that looked at how Canada is lagging far behind the rest of the world with sky high rates. What effect does this have? Well in my opinion it puts the development community a few steps behind and keep the industry from truly becoming what it should be.

I look at it like this.

1> If there was truly competition we would be seeing a lot more usage of rich content on mobile devices. As it stands now people aren’t using the services like they should. If I was the man at the top of the food chain at one of these Canadian carriers I would be all over doing what ever I could so that people used the content that is so readily available.

2> If the content and services we accessible at a lower cost I would take advantage and use the wireless capabilities. The more people available and using the service, the more demand for apps, the more the carriers can charge for licensing deals and make their money on the back end on these deals instead of on the front end from the customer.

3> It would also change the types of devices that people would be willing to buy. Instead of opting for the low end cellphones we would see better devices becoming more prevalent. The increased demand for these devices would surely increase the bottom line on the retail front for the carriers.

4> If there was a change in the way we are billed I think we would see a great emphasis on the development of Apps from Canadian development houses. Who for the most part have stayed away from developing on this as it is too expensive to use. We have some of the most talented developers in the world …let them loose on the Canadian scene.

So is there hope for Canada? Damn I hope so. An interesting thing to note is the upcoming auction for the 700mhz band in the USA. Google has opend the war chest and intends to play in this arena. Allotting 4.6 billion for this auction. But this is more then just a snap up of frequencies …..Google is trying to change the way the FCC looks at and administers the use. Google in an attempt to level the playing field has urged the FCC to adopt some guidlines for the winners of the auctions:

“Google wants the FCC to agree to its four “open” platform recommendations, which include: open applications for users; open devices that will work with whichever network provider customers choose; open services that would allow for third-party resellers to acquire wireless services on a wholesale basis; and open networks, which would allow third parties, such as Internet service providers, to interconnect at any feasible point within the 700MHz licensee’s wireless network.”

So when will we see a real change in the way the system operates? I wish I had the answer. Will the Canadian wake up and hear the people screaming? Time will tell. Probably the best thing for the industry is a US carrier setting up shop north of the border and poaching customers. We need competition not collusion.

Cheers

Scott

Posted in Canada, ConceptShare ~ 1 Comment
Written by Scott

We are going to be at the B5 Media office party. B5 has moved into the space and they are hosting the hottest party in Toronto tonite….well of the parties I know about. I mean i am sure there are hotter parties ….naaaahhhh this is the one to be at.

All three of the ConceptShare guys will be at the office warming party …

DJ + Vodka Red Bulls + Wii + lots of toronto’s digirati = fun

Hope to see you at the soiree!

Cheers

Scott

Posted in ConceptShare ~ 2 Comments
Written by Scott

So I am a digital information junkie. So what does every good GB hog need ….a big ass external harddrive. Enter Western Digital with a kick ass product that has made this byte junkie very happy. My WD Mybook 500gb external drive.

Here is the deal on this fine little piece of hardware. It works. Simple. Exactly the way it should work. I was moving files on to it in 10 minutes. I now have a place to work with my home movies, store my pictures, manage my music and still have room to back up all my documents via the automatic backup. All that and it looks pretty cool too.
This isn’t so much an article on the fast speeds or any other technical spec. It is more about the design of this device that I find so impressive. Here is a hard drive company that went from making a boring product that most people never saw to making a consumer facing product that is really good.

How did they do it you ask? IDEO.
As it happens that I was checking out the website of my favorite company in the world. That is a pretty big statement I know, but if you look at what the company is all about it you will understand the cool stuff they do. IDEO has great thinkers, they look at all the possibilities and not just focus on the most obvious solution. The break processes down to the core and design around what is truly important. The user.

They go into detail about the success of the product on their page. There is interesting talk about how they went about the design process. The way they design is truly impressive. They have honed the process to an art form. (They created IDEO Method cards to help others in the creative process.) There is a lot to be learned from this company and how they continually push the boundary and have created many of the products that we have today. They tell a very eloquent story.

“Aesthetically, My Book merges usability with distinctive detail to speak to Western Digital’s brand values–reliability, simplicity, innovation, design, and personal excellence. To make the drive’s inner workings as transparent as possible, a single button on the face of the design illuminates to indicate power and processing. The drive’s peripheral venting represents Western Digital’s brand values in Morse code. Finally, the drive’s monochromatic hue allows it to recede into the background.” Link

It is like poetry for the digital age.

I really like what they have done and you should check out the selection when you start considering where you are going to store your digital stuff. Lets face it DVD’s and CD’s just don’t cut it for media file storage. I think you will appreciate the thought that has gone into this product and how well it does what it is supposed to do.

Cheers,

Scott

Posted in ConceptShare, Product Design ~ 3 Comments
Written by Scott

Ok it is now into the 4th month of looking at the growth of the various networks in Canada. We are still growing strong. The numbers continue to impress me and i am not really sure how high these would go.

What I find particularly interesting is Facebook is starting to rival many of the newspapers in the country for audience.

Could this be the beginning of the shift we knew was coming? Could this be a new beginning?

So what does this mean for:

• Political Strategies
• Crime Fighting
• Sale of goods
• Distribution of information
• Newspapers
• Not for Profits

I think there is a wide variety of implications and some negative and many positive. I think it is up to the people to decide which route it will take. It has certainly made me think about opportunities surrounding this.

I hope these numbers will give you an idea that this is not a passing fancy. This seems to be a real disruption in the status quo.

What do these numbers mean to you? Will they affect the way you do business ?
Cheers

Scott

Posted in Canada, Facebook ~ 4 Comments
Written by Scott

The Onion has always made me laugh. The dry sense of humor and momentarily plausible situations are sheer genius. The most recent one was a news clip of a professional anchor and his description of how the net crumbled.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4vDClhnJjs[/youtube]

Be sure to watch the ticker along the bottom …..

Check this out it is a must see if you are a heavy internet user. This is work safe ….

Cheers

Scott

Posted in Humor ~ No Comments
Written by Scott

I was reading Micheal Geist’s post “Copyright Board Give Go Ahead to Ipod Levy”

I am continually surprised at how our government bureaucracies are making rules that really don’t solve the problem. Will putting levies on products that have the ability to store music stop illegal distribution of music….. probably not.

But that doesn’t stop the Copyright Board of Canada. See the legal ruling here.
This certainly isn’t a new issue, the board has looked at this issue many times in the past and it is only recently that they have sought to include devices under the heading of recoding medium. But what if I use all of these things for completely benign uses? Can ask for a break on the levy?

I use CD’s and DVD’s to back up and transfer files for production in the creative world. I use my Ipod to unite my CD music collection. I haven’t broken any laws ….why should i be paying this fee.

I think that as Canadians we should become more aware of the laws that are being passed and how they will affect us in the future. How does this translate into Cell phones, Removable harddrives, flash memory,computers, smartphones and anything else that can store data.

I think they are playing on a very slippery slope.

Take the time to read Michael Geist’s post and the ruling. The more we know and share what is happening we can make better judgement calls in the future.

Cheers

Scott

Posted in Technology ~ No Comments
Written by Scott