Technology Blog

Recently on a trip to Europe, I had to stay at the airport in Rome for over 12 hours while connecting to another flight bound for Malta. Unfortunately, I was completely unprepared for this situation communication wise! The mistake? I used a 800 calling number advertised on the phones available at the airport to make the calls necessary to my wife and my friend that I was visiting. I should have known better as I’ve been researching calling cards and IP telephony for years.

Pingo.com is one such company that I should have considered for my trip. Currently they are offering a father’s day phone card coupon code that you might be interested in.

I can’t emphasize how important it is to consider cheap alternatives that can serve well while traveling. Had I used Pingo for my phone calls that totaled no more than 60 minutes, I might have saved well over the $160.00 I spent. (yes, over $160.00 was charged on my credit card - never again!)

Right now, Pingo.com is offering International calling cards abroad along with a $5 sign up bonus. Here’s an example of International prepaid filipino calling cards.

Finally for those looking to promote Pingo, they also offer an affiliate and referral program. One thing is for sure, as I get ready to travel this year, I’m not going to forget options like this again.

Here’s a great article regarding: Victoria, Vancouver cab fleets go green

I heard this on the radio the other day and thought it was a perfect story addition to my previous post about admiring the hybrid cab that brought me home from the airport.

It’s true that hybrids are more expensive. The article touches on this, but also points out that there tax credits to consider provided by the government. I personally believe it’s a smart idea for all cab companies to go green. Perhaps over the time the cost savings in gas will reach the passengers.

Let’s face it, most of us are becoming more and more dependent on technology and the world wide web. More and more I see technology merging. Over the years one can see the uses of the internet become common place in our daily lives.

Photography is a prime example of that. Digital photography slowly started to become available to the average consumer in the early 90’s however film photography it’s almost unheard now.

So where does one store all these files? What about music files? I look at my desk and see clutter sprawled amongst 2 laptops, a desktop and about 3 external hard drives. Given my passion for sharing pictures, videos and music files amongst family and friends I need to look at other solutions.

One such solution is online backup services. IDrive.com offers encrypted backups for your important files. Not only do they offer free backup services for anyone looking at using 2 GIGs, but also have affordable pricing for unlimited backups for as little as $4.95 per month. The list of features are extensive, providing many user friendly features including an interface that’s similar to native Windows Explorer.

This website is definitely worth a look at. For more information, you can check out their online backup demo

After returning from my trip to Toronto, I grabbed a cab from the airport and immediately noticed the dashboard of the cab. It was digital readings showing everything that car was registering, including the mileage consumption. Although I was exhausted from travel, I couldn’t help but engage with the driver.

“Is this a hybrid?”

“Yes Sir, it is”

I couldn’t help but smile by this. I’d like to believe that my trip was cheaper as a result of this hybrid. On a recent trip to one of our favorite parks in Ontario, my father and I got a chance to really test his mileage on his new hybrid. We were amazed by its ability to average about 5 litres per 100 km. The driver of the cab proudly said he’s seen as little as 4.5/100km on his.

There’s a lot of buzz going on about global warming these days. A lot of the time it frustrates me to no end. It feels like a fad. Politicians are finally paying attention, yet using it for their own reasons. Care for the environment from politicians is roughly 20-30 years behind schedule as far as I’m concerned. Technological advances that we’re seeing today, could have existed a long time ago.

Recently I saw a program that showcased Jay Leno’s car collection. One of Leno’s pride and joy is an *electric* car from 1909 or 1910.

Is there any wonder why it’s so frustrating for those of us who care for the environment see the potential and only now , we’re starting to get only glimpses of what’s possible?

I’ve thought about starting an environmental news blog but until then, I plan to write, comment and post news articles about technological advances that aid our ability to stop the wave of destruction. It’s ironic isn’t it? The very thing that started the destruction of our world is the very thing that could save it: Technology

My 74 year old father has been involved in technology for over 55 years. His patience for technology “advancement” however is wearing thin, let me tell you, I tend to agree more and more with his observations and frustrations.

“Logic has disappeared.” I think anyone who’s ever choosen a PC over a Mac can well understand this. Anyone who’s worked as a technical support person can WELL understand this as well. Beta test software anyone? I have. You’ll KNOW all types of logic are disappearing.

Maybe I’m not making any sense. Many might disagree with me (and the thoughts of my old man). However, this week I feel like I’m putting myself through a crash course in audio visual concepts that just *boggle the mind*. With all the “advancements” these days, we’re also dealing with many incompatibilities, many file structures, formats, conversations, encoders, decoders, codecs, … whatever techy techy catch phrase you feel like using, it’s all there.

Is it ANY wonder why my wife’s eyes start to glaze over when I get even remotely techy with her? My late mom used to say to my father “one of these days I’m just going to get a hammer and smash everything into tiny bits.” I really feel like she was onto something there.

So I’m in a sea of .VOB files, painstakenly ripped out of corrupted mini dvd’s from my dad’s camcorder that weren’t finalized properly. And it dawned on me what these camcorder manufacturers are trying to do. They have mini DVD cams for people who want to record, finalize the disc, and plunk the mini dvd’s into theorhetically any dvd player out there to share with friends and family. A perfectly simple concept: unless you have errors.

The bundled video editing software that’s included in the package doesn’t happen to read the DVD files (.VOB) format outright. you have to convert to mpeg or avi and THEN reauthor to dvd. If you’ve followed through this far, let me know because I’m confusing myself just writing about it all.

Sometimes the intent to be simple ends up being more complicated and the discussions that have ensued since with my father have been enlightening to say the least. We speak the same techy languages but just with different experiences and perspectives. As the appetite for technology of the average consumer increases, the dysfunction between hardware and software and “standards” will continue. As a quasi tech support person (because I still provide a lot of free technical support to friends and family) this frustrates me even though its this very dysfunction that helps me earn a living.

My dad has a lot of conspiracy theories about the manufacturers having built-in inconsistencies and incompatibilities. After the hellish week I’ve put myself through this week, I’m inclined to believe him. In the meantime, my personal crash course continues.

I should pay attention more to tech news (funny considering I’m starting this blog).

I’ve been a happy Vonage customer for over a year. I’ve been an internet ‘phone’ enthusiast for 12 years. Watching the technology of voIP mature to the arena of regular use has been a dream come true. My wife and I are able to stay in touch since we live in separate countries. Vonage has saved us literally thousands of dollars in communication costs.

While I’m sure other companies will continue to spring up, I do hope that Vonage will continue. I don’t want the dream to end.

Vonage Chief Resigns; Company to Cut Marketing Costs (Update2)

News Article: WiMAX was the belle of the CTIA ball
Sprint is deploying WiMAX, others carriers are considering it

One day I was sipping drinks at a very push martini (or was it a sushi) bar in downtown Toronto sometime back in ‘94/’95 (could have been ‘97 but my memory escapes me).

I’ll never forget this conversation because a good friend of mine (programmer) was debating the technical limitations he felt existed in phone lines, stating it was an engineering impossibility for DSL to be as fast as what this investor was claiming. This investor wasn’t a complete slouch in the technology department but he was more of a money man than he was a tech guru. At least, given how often he slurred his words, that’s certainly what I thought of him. He made an impact when he told my programming buddy that they already had a DSL testing market in Ottawa.

From then on, I was hooked. At that point, my only access to highspeed internet was at work. In 1995 we were connected by an ISDN line (for speed references we’re talking about a 1/4 - 1/8 speed of the average DSL line to individual homes). The ISDN line served 50 workstations. Before long, we bumped up to a T1. But highspeed for consumers? That didn’t exist on a large scale until 1997. That was the pivotal year. When I later moved to Nova Scotia, things had advanced so quickly, I made the jump in my thinking that Nova Scotia must be so advanced in delivering DSL to a higher population percentage than what was happening in Toronto. The reality is: DSL along with highspeed cable internet access simply just took off.

The drunken investor knew what he was talking about.

In 2001, my ex girlfriend and I won some points from an affiliate program we were promoting, and we promptly made the jump from wired router to WIFI. This was practically unheard of at the time, especially in a small town in a small province. I rigged up all the Linksys components and within a few hours the three of us (including her computer addicted 9 year old son) were connected to the internet without the need for anymore cables ever again.

There days, friends from back east tell me that if they take their trusty laptops into town, they can usually pick up 3-5 WIFI connections from their friend’s places. *cough* not that I’m encouraging anyone to go “war driving” anytime soon.

After reading an article on WiMax in an obscure free Toronto newspaper back in February of last year, I made the prediction that WiMAX could become the next wave in internet connectivity within a 2-5 year window.

It looks like my prediction might start to come true.

WiMAX was the belle of the CTIA ball
Sprint is deploying WiMAX, others carriers are considering it

So I have a hope of course. It is my dream that I will one day ditch my cantenna device (a tube attached to my network card to boost wifi signals for better reception), ditch Wifi, and adopt WiMAX, and hopefully stay connected in real time on road at all times. I am amused that I once chatted with a friend on MSN while my wife was driving the car in and around Victoria, BC (that’s how many wifi connections there were in the city core).

Imagine not having to hop from one connection to another like that anymore. Imagine just *being* connected. Anywhere.

That’s my hope for WiMAX. It’s the next phase people. We all want it, we’re craving it. It’s time.

More information on technical aspects of WiMAX