Andy Kaplan-Myrth's Webstream

Industry Minister expands on tech agenda

via youtube.com This interview of Industry Minister Tony Clement followed the speech from the throne and goes into more detail about the technology aspects of the speech, including a digital economy strategy, anti-spam legislation and copyright legislation. But…

Time to drop the pretenses and cheer for the judges?

Ex-Canadian competing for Australia should have won gold: officialAn Australian sport official accused judges of awarding inflated scores to Canadian Alex Bilodeau Sunday, allowing him to edge out Dale Begg-Smith for gold in men's moguls. .... Coach Steve…

Which Star Trek TNG episodes are the important ones?

I'm introducing my kids to Star Trek: The Next Generation. I want them to understand the series and see the major storylines, but I don't really want them to need to watch all seven seasons to do so.…

Our new temporary pet

via en.wikipedia.org Art brought a leopard frog back from his friend's cottage on the weekend. They found it in the basement there and couldn't put it out in the cold, and I think Art figured we could add…

I am He, but never I am Me -- who knew?

via flickr.com This "I Am The Walrus" Venn diagram by Michael Gum is just one of the great Beatles data visualizations in the wonderful Charting the Beatles pool on Flickr. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Thoughts on Age Appropriate Geek Movies

My boys are 7 and 5 years old. They love to draw. Their latest drawing craze has to draw Star Wars scenarios. They draw stick figures with Darth Vader helmets, recreate a decent picture of R2-D2 and everyone…

Google taking "A new approach to China"

We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an…

Issue of virtual property rights is getting real

All those outdated billboards in Google Street View aren't just an eyesore; they're a waste of money-making opportunity for the big G, apparently. But not for long. Google's filed a patent entitled "Claiming Real Estate in Panoramic or…

Bamboo Keyboard, Mouse and Headphones from Impecca

via treehugger.com Beautiful! Permalink | Leave a comment  »

MS could have used open source but instead stole Plurk

You know how Microsoft was caught this week having stolen code from Plurk for a microblogging website in China? Well, as Mike Masnick notes at Techdirt, Canadian-based open source uber-micro-blogging platform StatusNet would have been perfectly happy for…

Kinder Surprise are banned in the US

via calgaryherald.com I had no idea until now that Kinder Surprise is banned in the US because of small parts! Permalink | Leave a comment  »

EtherPad goes open source

Etherpad is a web service that provides a free simultaneous collaborative writing platform. Users who visit the same page can not only edit the text but can see other users editing text on the fly. It is very…

Probabilities of Cancer for Jewish women

Canadian sources are reporting today that Jewish women have a much higher incidence of the two genetic mutations (BRCA1 and BRCA2) that are associated with an increase the risk of ovarian and breast cancer. The articles are talking…

Probabilities are counterintuitive

Why are probabilities so unintuitive? Check this out, from Mammogram Math in the NYTimes Magazine, discussing how misunderstandings about probabilities affects the public's ability to understand policy choices (via Brett): Assume there is a screening test for a…

Where are the contours of privacy in a world with Blippy?

Yes, we have privacy laws in Canada that protect consumers from some evil privacy violations, but that's a difficult front to protect -- after all, companies can do almost anything with your personal information if they have your…

Handmade stationery made from vintage 1961 science books

I love these stationary sets made by San Diego enveloper and anagramphile adnagam on Etsy.com. $10 USD for 10 envelopes and blank cards. Description This is a fantastically reminiscent stationery set handcrafted from the pages of a vintage…

Can video game violence amount to war crimes?

Or, to put it another way, do virtual characters have human rights?  A study from two Swiss human rights organizations, Trial and Pro Juventute, has found that some video games depict war and battle actions that in real…

Inquiring minds want to know, "why do..."

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I found Dilmah tea in Ottawa!

When I lived in Australia for a year about 8 years ago, I drank Dilmah tea all the time, and I have been hoping to find it in Canada ever since. Dilmah is a family owned company in…

Elinor Ostrom's theories applied to Copyright: this Commons is certainly not Tragic

Image by bingisser via Flickr NPR's Planet Money podcast had an interview last week with Indiana University professor Elinor Ostrom, actually catching her as she prepared her acceptance speech for the Nobel prize for economics. To play mp3s in your browser, you…

Fun stairs are better than a boring escalator

via quietube.com What this video says is true: fun can change behaviour. There's another message in the video as well: simple can be fun enough to change behaviour. I mean, imagine how awesome they could have made that…

Stalking myself stalking Google Street View cameras

Back in May, I wrote that I h ad seen the Google Street View car taking photos in Ottawa's Westboro neighbourhood, and I posted this image: Well, Street View went live for Canadian cities today, so after looking…

Untitled

RT @womenwhocare Great news: It is time for the pre-launch of Women Who Care! http://bit.ly/13RXBf #womenwhocare via Ping.fm Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Free Business Models and Creative Commons Licences

I've been working on Creative Commons licences for years, and thinking about business models built around open source and free (as in beer) content for just as long. Since I finished listening to the audiobook of Chris Anderson's…

Restricted Access to Public Contracting Information?

Here's yet another example of overreaching and copyright, this time by a private company but with government information. In Canada, the federal public service manages much of its contracting through a website called MERX. A software developer wants…

Dissolving the telecoms regulator is a terrible idea: Google Voice, AT&T;, and telecommunications regulation

Apple has an exclusive deal with AT&T in the U.S., stirring up rumors that AT&T was the one behind Apple rejecting Google Voice. How could AT&T not object? AT&T clings to the old business of charging for voice…

Revolting blog of the day: This Is Why You're Fat

Double Bypass Burger A burger topped with five slices of bacon, four slices of cheese, two fried eggs, mayo, lettuce, tomato, and onion between two grilled cheese sandwiches. (Submitted by Kyle Korchran via thevortexbarandgrill) via thisiswhyyourefat.com Hilarious and…

Screenshot of basicsystemscannerv6 malware attack underway

Browsing the web, this dialog box popped up warning about malware and wanting to scan my computer. Suspecting a threat from the warning itself (oh yes, I know they can be tricky), I made sure my Panda antivirus…

Tenant sued for defamation by landlord

A tenant who used the micro-blogging service Twitter to complain about mould in her Chicago apartment is being sued.Horizon Group Management filed a lawsuit that has accused Amanda Bonnen of defaming the company with her tweet. She sent…

BlackBerry Fail on Bell Canada

BlackBerry Smartphone Combo plans are great for: n/a Permalink | Leave a comment  »

The Canadian Privacy Commission's Twitter experiment

The Office of the Privacy Commission of Canada has been on Twitter since April, but today announces a more deliberate approach to their use of the service. Citing the popularity of hashtags that indicate Twitter users have similar…

Canadian copyright consultation will begin Monday!

Michael Geist is reporting today that the Canadian government will launch copyright consultations on Monday that will include online discussion forums: The Government of Canada has committed to modernizing Canada’s copyright laws, to provide meaningful rights for creators…