news aggregator

September 2, 2010

10:06
Apple is now on to the iPhone 4 and just launched a new line of iPod products. We remember back to the good ol' days when the iPhone entered 3G territory.
Categories: Canadian IT News
00:40
It's interesting that once again a free consumer messaging service is embedding new concepts as standard features long before they appear in the world of corporate e-mail.
Categories: Canadian IT News

September 1, 2010

17:49
I have updated the MP database to reflect current MPs. All 307 sitting MPs should now be correct. If there are issues, let me know. I will work on creating a new letter for people to send Re: C-32. The missing MP is in the riding of Winnipeg North which has been vacant since April 27, 2010, when Judy Wasylycia-Leis announced her retirement from federal politics. She is running for mayor of Winnipeg.
17:11
Microsoft needs to be strategic with Windows 7 tablet design, marketing and price to have a fighting chance against the iPad and Android-based tablets. Here are four keys to Windows 7 tablet's success over the iPad
Categories: Canadian IT News
16:32
Free or cheap apps can help troubleshoot your wireless network, turn your laptop into a hot spot and more
Categories: Canadian IT News
15:42
Microsoft is still tight-lipped about exactly what Windows programs can be affected by DLL load hijacking, but it has published an automated tool to help users stop the attacks.
Categories: Canadian IT News
10:25
A poll conducted by Delvinia for ITBusiness.ca shows that Canadian Facebook users are very likely to have at least made some tweaks to their privacy settings, and more than half take a very cautious approach to sharing information on the social network.
Categories: Canadian IT News
00:46
Huge cost savings, a dramatic rise in productivity, and greater accuracy in recording and retrieving field asset data -- these are but a few of the benefits Guelph Hydro experienced from rolling out a new Web-enabled GIS system. INCLUDES VIDEO.
Categories: Canadian IT News

August 31, 2010

20:21
Here's my "most favourite / most despised" list of tech types today. Be sure to check out the last one, to show that I play no favourites.
Categories: Canadian IT News
19:32
Ardent Twitterites may be disappointed to discover their apps no longer work following a change Twitter has made to its sign-on service for third party apps.
Categories: Canadian IT News
16:36
When you ask IT professionals if they use cloud computing or software-as-a-service, most start by saying "no". But if you ask some follow up questions, you will quickly find out about "that one application" that is a SaaS application.
Categories: Canadian IT News
15:34
A new experimental feature in Gmail organizes e-mail based on importance and helps users separate the "bologna" from the vital messages.
Categories: Canadian IT News
10:19
We took the iPhone 4 out to the crowds at Toronto's famous end-of-summer fair to see if it would impress, or disappoint. See how Apple's latest smartphone holds up.
Categories: Canadian IT News
10:03
SocialDeck is the latest in a series of acquisitions by Google over the past month, all focused around the area of social networking features.
Categories: Canadian IT News
07:33
Drew Wilson of ZeroPaid has posted a 3 part interview (Part 1,Part 2,Part 3)with me discussing Copyright and Bill C-32.
00:54
Last week, Statistics Canada released its latest report on the commercialization of intellectual property in Canadian universities.  Canada spends billions of public dollars on research funding each year and the government has been increasingly focused on how best to commercialize the results.  While there are several possible approaches to doing this, the government and some universities have been focused on building patent and IP portfolios as part of a conventional commercialization strategy.  The alternative could be an open access approach - encourage (or require) much of the intellectual property to be made broadly available under open licences so that multiple organizations could add value and find ways to commercialize.  The universities might generate less income but would better justify the public investment in research by providing the engine for larger economic benefits. Which approach is better?  The full commercialization approach has been tried in the U.S. with legislation known as Bayh-Dole and studies (here and here) have found that patents to universities have increased, but the increase has been accompanied by harm to the public domain of science and relatively small gains in income. The Canadian Science and Technology Strategy similarly places its faith in commercialization through IP portfolios and licencing, yet the Statscan data suggests that this has also been ineffective.  The latest report is based on survey data from 2008 which finds that the total IP income (primarily from licencing) at reporting Canadian universities was $53.2 million. The cost of generating this income?  The reporting institutions employed 321 full-time employees in IP management for a cost of $51.1 million.  In other words, after these direct costs, the total surplus for all Canadian universities was $2.1 million.  The average income per university from IP was only $425,000.  Patent applications and patents issued were actually down in the reporting institutions and there were less than two-dozen spin-off companies reported by the universities. While few would suggest that there is no value in the IP commercialization strategy for universities - there is surely a role for it - the emphasis on this approach as the optimal method of benefiting from billions in public funding for research has consistently failed.  Rather, an effective commercialization strategy might recognize that the commercialization is better suited outside the university with funded research the engine for new innovation that is openly available to entrepreneurs without licencing barriers.  The public pays for the basic research and might ultimately enjoy far more benefits than the current break-even approach by having more open access to research results.
00:40
A new report funded by the European Union has concluded that counterfeits have pro-consumer effects while rejecting claims of losses by established companies.  The report concludes that most counterfeit purchases are not substitute for the genuine article and actually help promote the brand.  The report finds that the real cost could be one-fifth of previously calculated figures.

August 30, 2010

23:39
The CRTC yesterday affirmed an earlier decision requiring incumbents to grant wholesale access to faster speeds to independent ISPs.  The government could still overrule the decision within the next 90 days.
22:42
Read why attorneys at a prominent Chicago-based law firm just love using the iPad -- even though they have to do it at their own expense.
Categories: Canadian IT News
15:37
Thousands of consumers are complaining that online stalking by marketers is getting getting worst. Maybe it's time to heed the calls for a "Do-Not-Track" list, much like the national "Do Not Call Registry"
Categories: Canadian IT News