The OptionKey Blog

QR Codes and some good advice on how to use them.

2012-01-30T22:58:00.001-07:00

Quick Response codes or otherwise known as QR Codes started showing up in marketing here in Edmonton about 3 years ago. Originally created back in 1997 these were primarily use for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing but are now used for a wide variety of purposes. Whether or not those purposes are useful to the end user is another question. In my experience, QR Codes are best used to give an end user direct access to something they may be looking for such as information on a product, a form to enter into a contest, or a link to download a newsletter, ebook, audiobook, etc.

QR Codes can also make excellent editions to business cards with information already filled out and added to a client's address book with minimal or no fuss. They are also handy for connecting to an encrypted wifi network (Sorry, Android only). However QR Codes can and have been horrifically misused, such as having a QR Code in an ad that doesn't go to the the product advertised but a cheap useless landing page or the companies website. Another example I've seen are QR Codes on realty signs that go to the realtor’s website instead of the property that is for sale.

The QR Code empowers the user giving them instant access to something that they are doing, wanting to do, or get information on. They can also be used to contain information like your library card number, an address, phone number and event information. It also adds a bit of interactivity between you and the user, getting your proverbial “foot in the door”.

My favourite QR Code Generator is http://www.qrstuff.com and you can customize the colour of your QR Code without using a graphics program like photoshop, it's free and easy to use.

Recommended QR Code Readers:

Android: QR Droid Private
iPhone: QR Reader For iPhone
Windows Phone7: Esponce QR Reader
Blackberry: QR Code Scanner Pro - Free
Other: Neo-Reader

Some other good information on QR Codes:

Mashable Article

What is a QR Code and why do you need one

CNET Video on QR Codes

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

QR Codes and some good advice on how to use them

2012-01-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

My favourite QR Code Generator is http://www.qrstuff.com and you can customize the colour of your QR Code without using a graphics program like photoshop, it's free and easy to use.

Recommended QR Code Readers:

Android: QR Droid Private
iPhone: QR Reader For iPhone
Windows Phone7: Esponce QR Reader
Blackberry: QR Code Scanner Pro - Free
Other: Neo-Reader

Some other good information on QR Codes:

Mashable Article

What is a QR Code and why do you need one

CNET Video on QR Codes

Digital Locks, If your MP doesn't get it they can screw us all.

2011-02-16T10:37:00.003-07:00

Digital Locks, If your MP doesn't get it they can screw us all.

Do you have itunes, or purchase movies, music or tv shows from some sort of online service? If you answered yes, then you should write your MP and get them go change the digital locks provision in Bill C-32. The conservative party with one notable exception in the Industry Minister Tony Clement who seems to be very technically savvy, and has fought for a lot of the fair use provisions in bill C-32. However due to his position as industry minister or other reasons, has been very silent about changing C-32 to include a fair use provision for breaking digital locks. As Bill C-32 is currently written, all fair use exceptions are over ruled by the digital locks provision. (see my previous blog post).

The conservative Member Ed Fast seems more interested in play politics and with our future in regards to "fair use" or "fair dealing" then doing what is best in the interest of all Canadians.

Mr. Fast asked the question how could justify "eliminating digital locks altogether by allowing circumvention for fair dealing purposes?" to the Canadian Federation of Students and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Both times his response to their answers was "my concern is if you go that extra step and allow circumvention for fair dealing, you've now made it so much more easy to actually allow the cheaters to undermine the system, where digital locks become absolutely meaningless."

He obviously misses the point. Copyright was designed to stop people from making MONEY from other people's work. For example it was designed to stop people from starting selling CD's and DVD's from out of your basement, to people for 5 dollars where Walmart is selling them for 10 dollars; or buying a projector and selling seat tickets to people who go view a movie. A 21st Century example would be to stop someone from ripping a DVD and selling a digital copy of that movie for money.

If you try and stop fair use you will only encourage piracy. Look at what happened in the United States with the DMCA, it has been changed to allow for the ripping and copying of DVD's for personal use and backup.

What's going on and why should I care?

Mr. Fast seems to be having a hard time seeing the light as to why the digital lock circumvention is essential to Canada's new copyright bill. We want artists to be paid fairly, we don't want to be charged $24.99 for each copy of a movie we want to put on our personal devices. Let me see, to put it in money terms, a copy on your computer, copy on your ipod, perhaps your phone, and don't forget a backup copy, that's $24.99 X 4 formats = $99.96 plus tax for 1 movie in 4 different formats. That is ridiculous. Don't even get me started about what happens if you have an itunes account and a 3rd party or non Apple video player. Guess what under C-32 in it's current form it would be illegal for you to circumvent the digital lock on that purchased DVD and rip it to your computer to put on your ipod, android or windows device. That in my opinion is wrong and as someone who has an entertainment server where I put a digital copy of my purchased DVD's and CD's along with the digital copies I've purchased from itunes, and other online stores, to make it easily accessible for my wife and I to watch our shows listen to our music and play our games. I don't know about you but I don't want to be thrown in jail for ripping a DVD.

What can you do.

Email this Ed Fast, the members of the copyright committee and your MP. Tell them why Bill C-32 needs a by pass for consumers to circumvent the digital lock for fair dealing purposes.

Amendment:

Read the transcripts From the Committee meetings here

Red the transcript about by passing digital locks with regard to fair use with Michael Geist.

Trevor Tye

PS. Please feel free to start your letter or email by copy and pasting the following text.

Feb. 16, 2011
First Name, Last Name
Address
City, Province
Postal Code
email

Dear Mr. Ed Fast MP and the copyright committee,

I as a consumer have an answer to your question "Why does Bill C-32 needs a by pass for consumers to circumvent the digital lock for fair dealing purposes?"

{Now put what you do with movies, and music. Also put what you would like to do with all that in the future. Also think about how much money you have invested in the movies and music you purchased and how much you would have to spend if you had to re-purchase everything. Don't you think your entitled to a backup?}

Sincerely,

Your Name

The Usage Based Billing Issue is not over in Canada

2011-02-04T11:10:00.001-07:00

The Usage Based Billing Issue is not over in Canada

The CRTC has recently ruled that they will take 60 days to review the usage based billing decision. According to Konrad Von Finckenstein's speech to MPs - Feb. 3, 2011, he is trying to balance what heavy users pay vs light or low use users. In this respect Usage based billing is the way to go; however we do not have a fair and competitive environment in Canada. We have a an oligopoly; that is why there is no innovation or deals such as price cutting, no heavy use bandwidth plans, nothing. You can argue you get the occasional 4GB XBox by switching but I'm talking about things that matter, like bandwidth caps, reliability, fair pricing on internet use. My situation is unique, If the CRTC wants to treat the internet like water or electricity; as a utility then there should be a way for me to get just a dumb fast pipe to my house, not 3 plans with caps.

Let's say the maintenance cost of running the network is $0.03 / gigabyte, that's what the ISP's need to break even and maintain the network. I would be totally up for paying $0.06 or $0.09 per gigabyte, it would reduce my internet bill to $30 or $45 per month assuming I used 500 GB! Not only that I'm paying 2 to 3 times more then their cost! CRAZY! (They are really making a killing since I have a cap of 125GB and they charge me $70 a month that is $2.10 per gigabyte and an additional $1.00 / GB after I go over the cap)

As a consumer I'm tired of being screwed by the big telcos and cable companies, who are making tones of money hand over fist off the internet. We have no consumer protection here, and as the internet overtakes TV, Radio, and other mediums, It will cost us even more especially with the low bandwidth caps. The best example of this is Telus and their optik tv is tv over the internet, Shaw and their digital phone is simply a type of skype with a phone; which by the way you can do with a Magic Jack and it cost you nothing; (Shaw is making a killing on there phone and they don't have to do real 911 service)

What is_enhanced_911 | Toddler Dies because of Glitch in enhanced 911 Services | Skype VOIP Prices

So in my opinion if your going to have caps then you account for what a family of 4 spending say 3-5 hours at home would use. Assuming there is say 4 people spend at least an hour each on youtube, or watch a movie from netflix, that is 4-6 Gigabytes a day for video, on the minimum, plus any online gaming, surfing and email; I'd say average about 10 GB a day multiply that by 30 days and you have 300GB! It adds up fast. I'm assuming your only spending 3-5 hours a day doing that, imagine if you spent all day watching movies or a marathon on netflix. You will pay and pay big time.

Konrad Von Finckenstein's obviously doesn't understand the technology and Bell, Telus, Shaw and Rogers are trying to protect their old dieing business practices by making the new one unaffordable. So to this I say the CRTC should either get people that understand the technology and are not puppets of these companies or be disbanded. The CRTC has been put on record saying IPTV and VOIP services are NOT internet related. Um? Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure they use the internet, um... yep pretty sure that's why IP stands for INTERNET PROTOCOL!!!!
What is IPTV | What is VOIP

So we can't stop, if we want affordable internet access here in Canada we have to keep up the pressure, I for one don't want our internet access to be like our cell phone access "The MOST EXPENSIVE in the world" I do everything on the net, I don't have cable, or subscribe to anything like that, I have a lan line phone that goes to an answering machine, but that's it. Pretty soon in the future everyone will just have a internet line coming into their house for everything, you won't have 3 times anymore you will just have one and you'll either rent or buy the hardware straight out if you want to have TV or Phone in the "Traditional Sense".

What has to happen, is there needs to be 6 tiers of service. Low/Medium/High Speed with support and Low/Medium/High Speed with no support for people like me who want just a dumb pipe with lots of bandwidth.

Let's make Canada a leader in the world, and encourage other companies to come to Canada for true competition, because as it is right now there are 4 companies and they are more then happy to screw us for as long as possible; and will do anything to make sure the status quo doesn't change.

Donate to OpenMedia.ca
Stop The Meter

Read the CRTC Speech by Konrad Von Finckenstein's yourself.

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

An Internet Charter of Rights and Freedoms

2011-02-01T14:41:00.001-07:00

An Internet Charter of Rights and Freedoms

I. We have the right to connect.

No person shall be denied connectivity based on race, religion, economic status or sex. With the following exception of promoting HATE Speech, publishing content that violates the rights and freedoms of others and violating basic human rights and freedoms.

II. We have the right to speak.

No one may abridge our freedom of speech. As users we must acknowledge the limitations on freedom of speech (such as hate speech) but they must defined as narrowly as possible, lest we find ourselves operating under a lowest common denominator of offense. Freedom is our default.

III. We have the right to speak in our languages.

The English language’s domination of the internet has faded as more languages and alphabets have joined the net, which is to be celebrated. We want to build bridges across languages and cultures. We will want to speak in our own languages but also speak with others.

IV. We have the right to peaceful assembly.

The right to peaceful assembly is listed separately from the right to speak. The internet enables us to organize without organizations and collaborate and that now threatens repressive regimes and wrong doing by governments as much as speech.

V. We have the right to act.

We connect to speak and speak to assemble and assemble to act. That is how we can and will change the world, not just putting forth grievances but creating the means to fix them; and putting an end to the institutions that would stop the will of the people.

VI. We have the right to control our data.

We control our own online presence and should be seen as much or as little as we choose. Companies and governments do not own the access to data about you. What’s yours is yours. The internet should operate on a principle of portability, so data cannot and should not be held prisoner by a service or government. The User retains control; but keep in mind that when control is given to one, it is taken from another the devil is in the details. This principle speaks to copyright and its laws, which set the definitions and limits of control or creation. This principle also raises questions about whether the wisdom of the crowd belongs to the crowd.

VII. We have the right to our own identity.

Our online identity is made up of our names, addresses, speech, creations, actions, and connections. Maintaining anonymity — hiding one’s identity — is a necessity; thus anonymity, with all its faults and baggage and trolls, must also be protected; to protect the people who disagree with the status quo; the ones who disagrees in matters of popular opinions, beliefs, social and religious values. Not to mention the ever important whistleblower. Controlling our data and our identities — make up the right to privacy.

VIII. What is public is a public good.

The internet is public; indeed, it is a public place (rather than a medium). In the rush to protect privacy, we must beware the dangers of restricting the definition of public. What’s public is owned by the public. Making the public private or secret serves the corrupt and tyrannical.

IX. The internet shall be built and operated openly.

The internet must continue to be built and operated to open standards. It must not be taken over or controlled by any company or government. It must not be taxed; it must not be limited. It is the internet’s openness and potential that gives it its freedom. It is this freedom that defines the internet.

You can read a similar post on the Buzz Machine

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

Metered Internet and the Response from the Industry Minister

2011-01-31T16:28:00.001-07:00

We finally have a statement from Industry Minister Tony Clement about the CRTC Ruling on metered internet. As it stands right now ISP companies that have implemented Usage Based Billing (UBB) are permitted to operate that way and charge accordingly. In a post from Tony Clement from http://www.tonyclement.ca/EN/3413/124561 he says that he his have a look at the usage based billing of customers. Now Tony Clement is the minister for allowing an opening of the mobile market (in some what of a limited fashion) but none the less he did open it some what allowing Wind Mobile to operate in Canada mostly backed by an Egyptian Billionaire. For that I give Mr. Clement Credit. However he has moved very slowly, compared to the cell phone portfolio. The internet is the medium that all communications will occur in 21st century. From Shaw's use of Home VOIP Service to Telus Optik TV, companies are finding new ways of using the internet to their advantage.

I am not in favor of UBB and am a big advocate of net neutrality but I do feel that the ISP companies do have the right to manage the traffic on the network to a point. For instance they can prioritize a Voip call or netflix stream over my torrent of the latest version of Ubuntu. The main reason I think the ISP's think they can get away with this is the outrageous fees and bandwidth limits they put on Cell Phone Plans. Think about it, most people are living with 500MB caps, I myself am pushing around 5GB per month. I know on my home internet account I average around 200 - 300 GB / month. The internet is the only thing we have, we don't have cable, nor do we want it with 99% of the shows on TV, I regard to as less then acceptable quality, and the shows I am interested in I get off itunes, netflix, or watch right on the channel's website.

Companies are looking to offset the costs of running their more costly and dieing business plans like conventional cable tv. Programming, good programming costs money, networks like HBO know this and if people like the show or the channel they will pay for it. The advertising model must also change, having companies pay for product placement like in 30 Rock with snapple. Advertisers have been getting a great deal when it comes to advertising on TV and on the internet and that has to change. If companies will not pay to have their product in a show then you need to go to brand X or have a bidding process for product placement. Imagine Tina Fey Drinking Safeway brand cola because Safeway had the highest bid for the advertising on the episode. I sure safeway would see a big spike in sales.

The world is changing, old business models don't work anymore, and the best way to make sure your company survives is to adapt and adapt fast. If this is the way private companies want to proceed then perhaps we need a publicly paid for internet access line, or perhaps we should allow the power companies to be ISPs, you can get 85 Mbps with power line Ethernet; that would make Bell, Rogers Shaw and Telus happy, NOT. I don't know what the answer is, I know the minister must respond. I hope he responds with a unmetered net neutral response but I'm not the one making the call. We will just have to wait and see.

Read my Open Letter On Metered Internet to the Government

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

Top 20 Must Have Android Apps

2011-01-28T16:55:00.001-07:00

Android is the hottest mobile platform on the market and it is also the most affordable. Being able to purchase handsets for as little as $100 it doesn't take much to get you up and going. However Apps are a huge part of the experience, from syncing your itunes library with your Android phone to playing games and remote accessing your computer from your phone.

Android can do it all. With over 200, 000 apps in the apps store it can get a little confusing and dangerous when choosing apps. So here are my top 20 android apps everyone should have; and my top 20 every tech should have.

Lookout mobile security suite is a free smart phone protections system that is an anti-virus, backup and device location software all rolled into one. Get LookOut Mobile Security Suite
App 2 SD Free is an Ad-supported app. New "Clear cache" helps you to get more free space! Need more free space for your internal phone storage? "App 2 SD" helps you to move apps to either external or internal storage. Get App 2 SD Free
AppBrain - a different take on the Android market. Find your next favorite app, live wallpaper or widget. Includes features like App recommendations, Hot apps of the day, Find apps with a price drop, Share apps and more. Get AppBrain
Android Booster - This free app is designed to optimize Android smartphones while minimizing the power consumption, and keeping users in control of the amount of internet usage. Get Android Booster
Rockplayer Lite - An ad supported video player that can play multiple formats. It plays XVid, DivX, MPEG4, MKV and much more. A suitable substitute until VLC Player is released for android. Get RockPlayer Lite
doubleTwist Player finds all the music on your phone and syncs music & video with the free doubleTwist app. Imports iTunes music playlists, ratings & playcounts; sync music, play music & video podcasts! Get DoubleTwist Player
Shazam. Start your music journey now with Shazam to discover, buy & share music. This free app gives you 5 tags each month to identify music anywhere. Get Shazam
Shop Savvy Barcode Scanner is the original barcode scanner on Android. Aim the camera at any product's barcode, wait for the beep and ShopSavvy will provide you with a list of online and local prices. Get Shop Savvy Barcode Scanner
Adobe Reader is a must-have app for high quality PDF viewing on Android. It Opens PDF files as email attachments, on the web or on device and has Text Reflow. You can send PDF files via email and has Multi-touch gestures for Navigation & Zoom. Get Adobe Reader
Color Note is a simple notepad app. It give you a quick and simple notepad editing experience when you write note, email, message, shopping lists and todo lists. Color Note makes taking a note easier than any other notepad apps. Get Color Note
Easy Uninstaller - Easy & fastest uninstall tool.
Advanced Task Killer is a tool to kill applications running.
Fast Reboot - closes/restarting all processes and frees up memory
GDocs is a simple notepad that can view, edit and sync documents from your Google Docs account. It allows you create, import/export and send documents. Get GDocs
File Expert is a Powerful & Leading File Manager for Android; it can do all basic file operations - Copy, Paste, Move, Create and Rename your files and folders FTP/HTTP Server - Web Sharing or WIFI File Explorer and can provide both Web & FTP transferring support. SMB Plugin Available. Get File Expert and File Expert SMB Plugin
CamCard. It can capture business card images with phone-based camera, and recognize the card image content, and the recognized result is automatically organized as a contact and saved into phone address book. Get CamCard lite get the unlocked CamCard - BCR (Western) for $6.99
QR Droid is a complete QR code reader, generator and scanner for your Android. Easily scan QR codes from camera, decode them from images saved in your device or from URL of images stored in Internet. Get QR Droid
TweetDeck is your mobile browser for staying in touch with what's happening on Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and Buzz. TweetDeck makes it easy to stay up to date and organized no matter where you are. Get TweetDeck
Skype offers free Skype-to-Skype calls over 3G or WiFi. Call landlines or mobile phones at great Skype rates; Instant message one or many friends at the same time. Get Skype
TeamViewer TeamViewer connects to any PC or server around the world within a few seconds. You can remote control your partner's Mac, linux or windows PC as if you were sitting right in front of it. Get TeamViewer
Dropbox Sync your files between your computers and your mobile device; browse the files in your Dropbox folder from anywhere! Share links to files, save photos and video from your camera to your computers, and open files using your favorite Android apps. Get Dropbox
Tricorder A multi-sensor environmental monitor -- turn your Android device into a working tricorder! Get Tricorder

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

My open letter to the copyright committee

2011-01-26T09:41:00.001-07:00

Honorable Members of the Copyright Committee,

First off, I would like to thank you for opening up the committee to accepting submissions from the public; now with that I would like to get down to business.

Bill C-32 is not overall a horrible bill; it updates many items that should be modernized like the right to post remixing of copyrighted material for creative non-commercial benefit, an updated fair use regime for personal and educational purposes. However all that is nullified by the inclusion of a single clause; 41.1, making it illegal to circumvent copy protection even if it is for reasons that are covered under "fair use".

I will be frank with you I believe, artist and companies should be paid for their work. What I do not believe is as technology and distribution gets cheaper that the price stays the same if not gets increased my the production companies. For example, the recent changes to the itunes pricing scheme. It now cost the same if not more to purchase the same quality movie like "Alice In Wonderland" on iTunes then it does to buy the DVD or even the Blu-Ray in some cases. That's fine, if the production companies want to overcharge for digital distribution to try save their dieing distribution industry, that's their choice. It is not the place of the Government to stand in the way of technology and innovation to "bail out" bad and changing business practices. The best example I can show you would be Leo Laporte's TWIT Network. A low cost technology network that produces high quality shows about technology distributed over the internet. Now if it were up to what I refer to as "Old Media" would not exist. Another Successful example of this would be a Show Called the "Guild" which is freely available to watch on NetFlix. "Old Media" had to be dragged kicking and screaming by Apple to be put on iTunes, which ended up being a huge win for them; if it were up to "Old Media", they would have sued Apple out of existence much like they did to Napster.

Giving consumers choice is always a good thing, this includes the ability to backup content, and change platforms to consume that content as the consumer sees fit. Under C-32 it would be illegal for me to rip a DVD and put it on an computer, ipad, iphone, android or windows device because of section 41.1. DVD's have digital copyright protection called CSS, it was cracked about 10 years ago. Has Copyright protection stopped piracy? No. Did Copyright Protection Inconvenience members of the open source community that cracked to the copyright protection because they couldn't watch or listen to items they purchased on their computers? Yes. That is why the copyright protection was cracked in the first place. To watch DVD's on a Linux (Open Source) based computer.

Now we are coming to a crossroads and it's important to pick the right way to proceed. It is important we keep the internet in Canada a free and neutral place for innovation, communication and the free flow of idea's that will make Canada a world leader in the 21st century. Having fragmented systems where you can watch and listen to content on one device over another makes no sense. We must allow consumers the ability and choice to watch and listen to what they want where ever they want on any device they want to use.

I implore the committee to change provision 41.1 to allow for the circumvention of DRM for personal and educational uses. The economy of the 21st century is going to be a knowledge based economy, let's make Canada, a leader in this brave new world.

My submission for an amendment is as follows.

42. Fair Use and Moral Rights - media shall not be restricted to or prohibit the user from not being able consume purchased media from a non-subscription based service on media consumption devices. The user shall be allowed to change the format of media for devices that the user owns at the time of purchase and in the future. Subscription based services shall not be prohibited or locked down to a single platform or content device.

For more information you can read my blog post about this topic

I would like to thank the committee for the time it took to read this email.

Trevor Tye

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

A creator and consumer's view of copyright reform in Canada

2011-01-06T10:49:00.001-07:00

A creator and consumer's view of copyright reform in Canada.

Bill Freeman wrote an interesting commentary on straight.com, and from the article what I can gather is either Mr. Freeman, doesn't consume any media himself so the copyright changes don't apply to him or he missed the issues with it all together.

As a content creator and a content consumer I can tell you that unless the digital locks provision is changed to allow backups, change formats and break copyright protection so you can use the content on other devices the bill is useless to everyone except copyright lawyers, and the people hiring copyright lawyers; here's why.

In case you haven't noticed the price on music and videos have been steadily increasing on iTunes. A user I know was telling me that a show they subscribe to on iTunes went from $30 for the season to $45 for the season. They called it a rip off and are now canceling their subscription to the show. In my humble opinion Mr. Freeman thinks the way Mr. James Moore thinks about content and copyright - you pay a licensing fee for every format you want the content on regardless if you can convert it yourself. Should digital copies cost as much as their printed counter parts in the store? Why would you pay $45 for say a digital copy of season 9 of CSI when you can go to the store and buy the same season on DVD for $20 and you get the nice packaging and pressed DVD's. <sarcasm>Makes complete sense!</sarcasm>

The copyright holders don't have their heads on straight. Lets see what's going through their heads. The consumer pays more if we put a digitally locked file on iTunes, they pay as much for it as they would pay for the DVD, but they don't get packaging, artwork or an original copy, they we tell them what devices they have to buy to play our content, and we can take away the right for them to play back their digital content.

This changes everything. Please allow me to clarify; this is right out of the proposed law. So I need to put things into perspective here. This is the proposed law's definition of "Circumvent"

“circumvent” means,

(a) in respect of a technological protection measure within the meaning of paragraph (a) of the definition “technological protection measure”, to descramble a scrambled work or decrypt an encrypted work or to otherwise avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate or impair the technological protection measure, unless it is done with the authority of the copyright owner; and

(b) in respect of a technological protection measure within the meaning of paragraph (b) of the definition “technological protection measure”, to avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate or impair the technological protection measure.

“technological protection measure”

« mesure technique de protection »

“technological protection measure” means any effective technology, device or component that, in the ordinary course of its operation,

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Now here is what a person is NOT allowed to do.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Prohibition

41.1 (1) No person shall

(a) circumvent a technological protection measure within the meaning of paragraph (a) of the definition “technological protection measure” in section 41;

(b) offer services to the public or provide services if

(i) the services are offered or provided primarily for the purposes of circumventing a technological protection measure,

(ii) the uses or purposes of those services are not commercially significant other than when they are offered or provided for the purposes of circumventing a technological protection measure, or

(iii) the person markets those services as being for the purposes of circumventing a technological protection measure or acts in concert with another person in order to market those services as being for those purposes; or

(c) manufacture, import, distribute, offer for sale or rental or provide — including by selling or renting — any technology, device or component if

(i) the technology, device or component is designed or produced primarily for the purposes of circumventing a technological protection measure,

(ii) the uses or purposes of the technology, device or component are not commercially significant other than when it is used for the purposes of circumventing a technolog- ical protection measure, or

(iii) the person markets the technology, device or component as being for the purposes of circumventing a technological protection measure or acts in concert with another person in order to market the technology, device or component as being for those purposes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

You can read the full bill here or an excellent summary on Michael Geist Website.

The point is that you can do anything you want to the content so long as it's not copyright protected. Guess what... Everything is copyright protected! If you ever played card games like bridge, spades and hearts you should know what trump is and that is what this bill has. This bill gives consumers much updated rights to the content they buy except the copyright holders have a great big trump card that nullifies all the consumers rights.

The only way around this is the creators of the content have to come out with software that will either convert your content to different devices because under Bill C-32 it is illegal for you to do so or to seek services or any software, to put your digital copy of Toy Story Three on your New Android Tablet. That's right the digital copies provided only work in iTunes, Windows Media Player, Apple and Microsoft devices. They will not work on your PSP, Android, or other devices. This also makes ripping DVD's illegal because it has a digital lock called CSS, it was just broken a long time ago by DVD Jon.

I'm of the belief that you should only have to pay for content once and if you want to take the time to change the content from platform to platform all the power to you; and if the media companies and copyright holders want to provide that content at what consumers consider a "reasonable" price even better. In my opinion a digital copy should be 1/3 of the price of the "hard" copy since there is no shipping for the digital copy no box, no store, no sales person to sell it to me, the cost just aren't their with the digital copy that their are with disks at the store.

The other part of C-32 I wanted to comment on is the "Educational" use of copyrighted material. In my opinion, the Creator's Copyright Coalition is essentially fear mongering that they are all going to starve if a teacher don't get fair use rights in the classroom. This is ridiculous; teachers loving being able to give students books and if possible I know for a fact most teachers would rather buy 30 copies of a book then photocopy a few pages. The educational exemptions are just going to more or less legalize what is going on in schools now, like watching a movie about World War II with out having to pay a licensing fee, or copying a few pages out of a book to analyze the meaning of a phrase poem etc.

Bill C-32 has some great things in it but the digital locks issue must be addressed and changed to allow for the circumvention of DRM for personal or educational uses. Once that change is made, the bill should be allowed to pass. If a member of the Copyright Committee is reading this please feel free to add the following text to C-32 in the copyright infringement section.

41.15 to allow for the circumvention of media by use of service and software for personal, non commercial and educational uses of owned content.

42. Fair Use and Moral Rights - media shall not be restricted to or prohibit the user from not being able consume purchased media on media consumption devices. The user shall be allowed to change the format of media for devices that the user owns at the time of purchase and in the future.

That seems fair to me. I have a huge library of DVD's and we recently purchased a blu-ray player for our HD TV, this doesn't mean I'm entitled to a new blu-ray movie because I have the DVD but I am entitled to rip my DVD's to my computer for backup or to watch them on my Linux media server. If I want to re-purchase the movies I own to a higher quality format or purchase a digital copy because I don't have to convert the movie myself (because it's more convenient) that's my choice. I should not be dictated to by media companies, manufactures and government that I have to re-buy everything to pay for some executive's diamond studded solid gold TV or ivory back scratcher.

If you think I'm harsh about this don't even ask me what I think about the book publishers and their copyright issues with digital books.

Trevor

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

Intel's New SandyBridge Processor and Integrated DRM

2011-01-03T15:37:00.001-07:00

Intel's New SandyBridge Processor and Integrated DRM

Intel has made a deal with the devil; OK I'm sorry I didn't mean to insult the Devil, they made a deal with the MPAA. SandyBridge for all intents and purposes looks like a great processor, high performance low cost and worst of all integrated DRM. It was something Intel slipped into the chip when no one was looking; Digital Restrictions Management (DRM), the bane of consumers every where. It prevents you from using media you have legally purchased on different devices. The best example I can give is purchasing a song or video on iTunes then trying to load that song or video on to a non-apple device such as a Windows Phone 7, or Android tablet/phone. So now Intel is going to make every person that purchases a SandyBridge i3, i5 and i7 subject to this DRM. This isn't the first time Intel tried a boneheaded move like this, it tried it with the Tualatin-Based Pentium III's with a technology called PSN (Processor Serial Number) but privacy advocates managed to get Intel to remove this feature and it was not carried though to future processors.

This new DRM technology built onto the chip could be used to allow or deny you use of your computer depending on how it is implemented. To support this argument further it is also known that SandyBridge processors have a feature called Anti-Theft 3.0. This technology allows the processor to be disabled even if the computer has no internet connection. It was implemented under the premises if someone stole your computer you could shut it down. Now consider what we have here. Technology where that tracks what you have purchased; probably tracks what your using and technology that can shut your computer down. Hmmmmm...... I smell trouble here. I wonder what would happen if you tried to rip a DVD with handbrake or even tried to install handbrake? Would your computer shut off never to be turned on again or perhaps you might get a nice letter from the MPAA informing you of a court date? I don't like the idea of all these different technologies on the Intel processors calling home it feels like a violation of our privacy. If I want to spend the time and RIP my purchased DVD to my Android Phone, iPod Touch, or make a digital copy then I should be able to do that and without looking over my shoulder.

Trevor

Sources:

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/03/intel-to-launch-insider-movie-service-with-1080p-content-widi-2/

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1934536/intels-sandy-bridge-sucks-hollywood-drm

http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/12/18/2230221/Intels-Sandy-Bridge-Processor-Has-a-Kill-Switch?from=rss

http://www.techspot.com/news/41643-intels-sandy-bridge-processors-have-a-remote-kill-switch.html

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

How to stream media to your Android Phone from a Network Attached Storage Device (NAS).

2010-12-23T10:50:00.001-07:00

Ever since I got my HTC Desire at the End of September 2010, I've wanted to be able to stream shows and songs from my NAS to my Phone.

Let's face it syning though USB sucks and when I'm at home I can have access to my entire media collection on my NAS.

One of the best things about Android is it's Linux Roots and Google's commitment to keeping Android an Open Source Platform.

This allowed some very cleaver app developers to create the apps that are going to allow us to do this very simple thing.

*Note: iPhones and at the time of this post Windows Phone 7 devices can't do this without some major setup or some sort of media server such as VLC or Windows Home server etc.

What you need.

Any NAS, I am using a Linksys Dual Bay NAS200 (which only has 10/100 Ethernet access), you will need a Android Phone the better the specs the better the performance. My Android Phone is a HTC Desire with the 1Ghz Snapdragon Processor and am running Android 2.2 (Froyo).

The app I am using for accessing the NAS is called File Expert, which is free. For playing the videos I am using RockPlayer which will also allow you to play DivX and Xvid videos. RockPlayer will stream the video from the NAS to your Android Phone.

The nice thing about this is on the Apple iOS devices you have to have your mac on and itunes open to with and have some sort of third party software installed on your Mac and iOS device to access your content wirelessly. On Android you just need the two apps.

Here is how you set it up; first I will assume you have a NAS already setup on your network; and your have configured it so everyone will have access or "guest" access

In File Expert on your Android handset, press on the network tab, then depending on your phone it may be a little bit different but on my HTC Desire I need to press the menu button then I want to press "New" then select Add New SMB Server; then Fill out the Server IP Address xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx and check Anonymous. Press Ok.

Then that's it, you can then browse your NAS if everything has been configured properly, and when you want to watch a video be sure to use RockPlayer especially if your using DivX or Xvid Files.

Full Video Tutorial Coming Soon!

Trevor

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

Windows Phone 7 Review

2010-12-20T11:13:00.002-07:00

Windows Phone 7 Review

I've never had a problem working with technology. I've worked with windows, OS X, iphones, ipods, Android 1.6, 2.1, 2.2 and blackberry devices. I've seen and used windows mobile 6.5. I have never had any issue syncing, navigating or doing anything with any of these devices. Now welcome Windows Phone 7; Microsoft's "iPhone and Android" killer which it definitely is not. When Windows Phone 7 was released I went to have a look at it; they had a demo of it at the local Futureshop. At the time I thought the phone was mostly "Flash" it was a little confusing moving around Microsoft's operating system. Other then that I thought it might be ok. The overall impression I got is if you didn't like the way or style the iPhone or Android looked; Windows Phone 7 Might be a good solution. Boy was I wrong.

So Why do I dislike the Windows Phone 7 OS so much? There are a few things.

1) The Data Syncing is very lack lustre it is about the same as the Blackberry, just a little bit worse (in my opinion).

2) Adding a contact took 6 steps. That is ridiculous. The I was adding the contact I was never qued to add the phone number or email address to an existing contact. On my Android and iPhone it only took 2-3 steps!

3) The Messaging application only selected addresses that were imported from the gmail account so we could only send emails. If we wanted to SMS we had to input the full number.

4) If you want apps you have to have a LIVE Account! So I had to sign up for one. I was not impressed.

5) When we downloaded an one of the very few free apps, I have no idea where the heck it went!

6) The search only seems to work in sections. For example if I am in the Microsoft Apps Store it only searches the store, if I am in the email it only searches the email.

7) I was beginning to find the navigation confusing. there is a huge amount of scrolling in Windows Phone 7 and it varies from up and down to side to side. You never know which way your going to have to scroll.

This phone was picked out by someone with very limited computer skills against my suggestions for an iPhone 3GS or Android phone. The person that bought it was told by the sales person that they would find it easier then an iPhone, and when they couldn't get it working; they called me and I found it frustrating to get setup. Perhaps if I had an Xbox with a XBox Live account and a regular Microsoft Live account I would love it.

So this is my recommendation for those of you looking to buy a Windows 7 Phone. If your tied into Microsoft's services hey then go for it if you don't have Microsoft's Services then stick with A BlackBerry, iPhone or Android. If you are wondering Yes I did find Windows Mobile 6.5 easier to use and setup no matter how awkward it was.

Video to be posted soon!

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

Going from a Democracy to an Empire

2010-12-09T13:21:00.001-07:00

We live in interesting times... at least I think we do. Have you watched Star Wars episodes one to three recently? No, well maybe you should and then have a look at your local news paper and check out what the heck is going on in the world. See any similarities? No, well you should and here is why. Ever since September 11, 2001 (a tragic day in the history of the world); the United States and the western or "modernized" countries have to some respects become police states constantly in a state of emergency at least compared to pre 9/11. I highly recommend reading a post from Robert Elias, professor of Politics at the University of San Francisco era 2001, for a great article about Today's terrorism and what was/is America's foreign policy. Now if I'm going to compare today with what happened in Star Wars let's go back to 2001. The Bush administration was in power, and life was going along just fine there were many international disagreements, perhaps more so then before. The United States and the Western Countries are in a relatively Utopian State much like the Republic in Star Wars. So now this is going to get a little complicated here but I will try to explain it. Some bad stuff happens in Star Wars like the deaths of Jedi, and the realization of "rogue countries and companies (The Trade Federation)" that become a threat to the republic.

Now the extremist are the "Trade Federation", we lived with them bought things from them used them and now they want to kill us. Now in Star Wars the republic and Trade Federation have their little war (Iraq and Afghanistan) where the armies fight on the battle ground. However here is where the Terrorist are very cleaver. If Terrorist hate the way we live our lives, having technology, consumerism, etc, then they are as good if not more cleaver then Emperor Palpatine. We have democracy for now¹ but I don't know if we will for much longer; we now live about two steps from being in a police state. Issues where common sense should prevail are trumped by over zealous calls for patriotism and security. We the people have allowed this to happen, making our countries almost no different then the corrupt "Dictatorships" our "governments" say are evil (except we have more technology). I do recognize that we still do have elections their for we are still technically a democracy but when only a small percentage of people come out to vote I seriously question that. Like in star wars where the government took away all the power from the people in the name of security, because of a war, then the Terrorists have already won.

The best examples of this I can give you is the conduct of the police at the G20 meeting in Toronto², the reaction by The US Government and companies to Wikileaks. Here is a great example of optics. The Harper Government is all about Anti-Corruption but when they appoint a public sector whistleblower commissioner who is to busy berating their staff amongst other things then to do her job (See the Toronto Star Post). Like in Star Wars, where The Republic goes from being a republic to an Empire; I fear we maybe on the same path giving up our freedoms for temporary security. It has happened before heard of the great republic of Rome?

There is hope, there are many more political parties propping up like the Pirate Party and the Alberta Party. I hope that we can return to our governments governing with common sense, good will and reason instead of fear, and ideology. We have to make these changes before it's to late.

That's just my opinion. I hope I'm wrong.

1 - In Canada since in 2008 and 2009 Prime Minister Steven Harper Prorogued Parliament to avoid no-confidence votes. It basically set a precedent for how the Governor General (queen's representative) handles these kind of issues in the future.

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

Open ID and API's. What Are They And How They Work?

2010-12-08T09:53:00.001-07:00

In today's wonderful computing world you have a number of really popular companies (such as twitter, Google and Facebook to name a few) and they have a huge user base. To allow these users access to your web services you can use something called an API (Application Programming interface). An API allows a programmer to integrate a product or service into their particular product or service (such as a wordpress blog). A popular example would be having a GMail account and creating or accessing Your Wordpress account. This is made possible by their APIs which is why you see buttons like "Connect with Facebook" or "login with your GMail Account".

Now a good API that most people should have integrated into their website is Open ID. OpenID is a safe, faster, and easier way to log in to web sites. http://openid.net/. This way a user can use an account they already have (so long as that account uses open id) to login and join your site or web community without the user having to fill out another sign up form. This can be very useful when setting up a website with a CMS like Wordpress. The web developer that sets up such a site can then allow you to use an open ID login to access the site.

Who currently uses the Open ID Standard?

Look for the “Sign in with a Google Account” button or use your Google Profile URL	Look for the “Sign in with Yahoo” button.	Look for the “Yahoo! JAPAN IDでログイン” button.
Enter “username.livejournal.com”	Click the “Sign in with Hyves” button.	Enter your blog URL: “blogname.blogspot.com”
Look for the “Sign in with Yahoo” button or use your photostream URL	Click the “Sign in with Orange” button or enter “orange.fr”	mixi is a web service that allows users to communicate with their friends and acquaintances.
Look for the “Login with MySpaceID” button or enter “www.myspace.com/username”	Enter your WordPress.com URL, for example: “username.wordpress.com”	Look for a “Sign in with AOL” button or enter “openid.aol.com/screenname”
Chi.mp allows you to create your own social hub on an OpenID domain you own and control.	ClaimID is an easy way to manage your online identity with OpenID.	myID.net is an OpenID provider with support for groups and the Korean language.
myOpenID is the first standalone provider for both individuals and businesses, with secure multi-factor authentication.	VeriSign’s Personal Identity Provider is an OpenID provider with support for multi-factor authentication.	Your Internet ID lets you build a social identity to use on the web.

Please note who is notice who is missing from the list most noticeably Apple and Microsoft.

What are some benefits of using OpenID?

Most websites ask for an extended, repetitive amount of information in order to use their application. OpenID allows you to sign in to websites with a single click. Basic profile information (such as your name, birth date etc) can be used to pre-populate registration forms, so you spend more time engaging and less time filling out annoying registration pages.

Allowing the user to use Open ID will help reduce frustration and keep the user to a minimum number of multiple usernames and passwords which they may find difficult to remember. Since password recovery process is tedious the user will be more inclined to use the site that makes it easiest for them to use. However using the same password at each of your favorite websites poses a security risk. With OpenID, you can use a single, existing account (from providers like Google, Yahoo, AOL or your own blog) to sign in to thousands of websites without ever needing to create another username and password. This makes OpenID is the safer and easier method to joining new sites.

OpenID is a decentralized standard, meaning it is not controlled by any one website or service provider. You control how much personal information you choose to share with websites that accept OpenID. Multiple OpenIDs can be used for different websites or purposes. If your email (Google, Yahoo, AOL), photo stream (Flickr) or blog (Blogger, WordPress, LiveJournal) serves as your primary online presence, OpenID allows you to have a portable identity across the web.

Many web users deploy the same password across multiple websites. And since traditional passwords are not centrally administered, if a security compromise occurs at any website you use, a hacker could gain access to your password across multiple sites. OpenID is more secure because passwords are never shared with any websites, and if a compromise does occur, you can simply change the password for your OpenID, thus immediately preventing a hacker from gaining access to your accounts at any websites you visit.

Since the focus of most OpenID providers (such as Google, Yahoo and AOL) is in identity management, they can be more thorough about protecting your online identity. Most website operators are less likely to be as dedicated to protecting your identity as the OpenID providers, whose focus is on securely hosting user identities.

Plugins such as the Wordpress Open ID plugin allows users to login to their local WordPress account using an OpenID. This also allows the enabling of commenters to leave authenticated comments using OpenID. The plugin also includes an OpenID provider, enabling users to login to OpenID-enabled sites using their own personal WordPress account. XRDS-Simple is required for the OpenID Provider and some features of the OpenID Consumer.

Developer documention for the Wordpress Open ID API, which includes all of the public methods and hooks for integrating with and extending the plugin, can be found here.

If you have any questions or comments please tweet them to me @trevortye on Twitter or email me

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

Google Website Optimizer Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability

2010-12-07T08:24:00.001-07:00

Security Bulletin December 07, 2010

There is a potential security issue with Website Optimizer. The vulnerability in the Website Optimizer Control Script, allows the execution of malicious code on your site using a Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attack. This attack can only take place if a website or browser has already been compromised by a separate attack. The immediate probability of this attack is low but it is essential take action to protect your site.

Google has a fixed for the bug, and all new experiments are not susceptible. However, any experiments that are currently running need to be updated. If you have any Website Optimizer scripts from paused or stopped experiments created before December 3, 2010, you will need to remove or update that code as well.

There are two ways to update your code. You can either stop current experiments, remove the old scripts, and create a new experiment, or you can update the code on your site directly. Creating a new experiment as it is the simpler method.

Creating a New Experiment

Stop any currently running Website Optimizer experiments
Remove all the Website Optimizer scripts from your site
Create a new experiment as normal. New experiments are not vulnerable.

To Update the Website Optimizer Control Script Directly Locate the Control Script on your site.

It should look something like this:

A/B Test Control Script

<script>
function utmx_section(){}function utmx(){}
(function(){var k='XXXXXXXXXX',d=document,l=d.location,c=d.cookie;function f(n){
if(c){var i=c.indexOf(n+'=');if(i>-1){var j=c.indexOf(';',i);return c.substring(i+n.
length+1,j<0?c.length:j)}}}var x=f('__utmx'),xx=f('__utmxx'),h=l.hash;
d.write('<sc'+'ript src="'+
'http'+(l.protocol=='https:'?'s://ssl':'://www')+'.google-analytics.com'
+'/siteopt.js?v=1&utmxkey='+k+'&utmx='+(x?x:'')+'&utmxx='+(xx?xx:'')+'&utmxtime='
+new Date().valueOf()+(h?'&utmxhash='+escape(h.substr(1)):'')+
'" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></sc'+'ript>')})();
</script><script>utmx("url",'A/B');</script>

Multivariate Test Control Script

<script>
function utmx_section(){}function utmx(){}
(function(){var k='XXXXXXXXXX',d=document,l=d.location,c=d.cookie;function f(n){
if(c){var i=c.indexOf(n+'=');if(i>-1){var j=c.indexOf(';',i);return c.substring(i+n.
length+1,j<0?c.length:j)}}}var x=f('__utmx'),xx=f('__utmxx'),h=l.hash;
d.write('<sc'+'ript src="'+
'http'+(l.protocol=='https:'?'s://ssl':'://www')+'.google-analytics.com'
+'/siteopt.js?v=1&utmxkey='+k+'&utmx='+(x?x:'')+'&utmxx='+(xx?xx:'')+'&utmxtime='
+new Date().valueOf()+(h?'&utmxhash='+escape(h.substr(1)):'')+
'" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></sc'+'ript>')})();
</script>

Locate the following in the Control Script: return c.substring(...
Modify the following line as shown:
BEFORE: return c.substring(i+n.length+1,j<0?c.length:j)
FIXED: return escape(c.substring(i+n.length+1,j<0?c.length:j))
Make sure to include the final closing parenthesis “)”

Fixed A/B Control Script

<script>
function utmx_section(){}function utmx(){} (function(){var k='XXXXXXXXXX',d=document,l=d.location,c=d.cookie;function f(n){ if(c){var i=c.indexOf(n+'=');if(i>-1){var j=c.indexOf(';',i);
return escape(c.substring(i+n.length+1,j<0?c.length:j))}}}
var x=f('__utmx'),xx=f('__utmxx'),h=l.hash; d.write('<sc'+'ript src="'+
'http'+(l.protocol=='https:'?'s://ssl':'://www')+'.google-analytics.com'
+'/siteopt.js?v=1&utmxkey='+k+'&utmx='+(x?x:'')+'&utmxx='+(xx?xx:'')+'&utmxtime='
+new Date().valueOf()+(h?'&utmxhash='+escape(h.substr(1)):'')+
'" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></sc'+'ript>')})();
</script><script>utmx("url",'A/B');
</script>

Fixed Multivariate Control Script

<script>
function utmx_section(){}function utmx(){}
(function(){var k='XXXXXXXXXX',d=document,l=d.location,c=d.cookie;function f(n){
if(c){var i=c.indexOf(n+'=');if(i>-1){var j=c.indexOf(';',i);
return escape(c.substring(i+n.length+1,j<0?c.length:j))}}}
var x=f('__utmx'),xx=f('__utmxx'),h=l.hash; d.write('<sc'+'ript src="'+
'http'+(l.protocol=='https:'?'s://ssl':'://www')+'.google-analytics.com'
+'/siteopt.js?v=1&utmxkey='+k+'&utmx='+(x?x:'')+'&utmxx='+(xx?xx:'')+'&utmxtime='
+new Date().valueOf()+(h?'&utmxhash='+escape(h.substr(1)):'')+
'" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></sc'+'ript>')})();
</script>

Note that the k=XXXXXXXXX line in the above Control Script examples is a placeholder.

Your experiment will continue as normal after you’ve made this update. There’s no need to pause or restart the experiment.

Trevor Tye

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

Working in the 21st Century

2010-11-29T15:44:00.001-07:00

Working in the 21st Century.

Life is full of wonders, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross; but it's not for the timid; and the same will be said for people working in the 21st century. Unless you are planning on having some sort of Military, Policing, or health care profession, you should expect to change jobs at least three or four times in your career. I know a guy that was just laid off after 26 years a company. He had just finished with a huge event (which ended up being a big success), and when the event was done he was told that the company was changing and he was not to be apart of the changes. Which had me thinking of how long I've been at jobs for (Being in website development my situation is a little different then his but overall it amounts to the same). The longest I've been at a company has been 5 years and that was a part-time position I took after school. I have never been at a company for longer then 3 years at a time (I have had freelance clients for more then 10 years); and I know this to be true for most people I've talked to where the average range is three to seven years. The time of staying at a job for over ten or more years are gone (there are some rare exceptions); for several reasons, they can range from the need for restructuring to the need for "new ideas" (By that I mean bring in someone younger and cheaper). There is also the thinking by personnel there are greener pastures going somewhere else; or they are feeling under utilized or appreciated. Lots of companies these days are disregarding their most valuable resources the people they hire to do the work. With increasing pressure to improve "the bottom line" and performance, they are neglecting the companies long term viability. Don't get me wrong sometimes these changes need to be made but I find that in most situations; the reasons it is done is purely a financial one. With these points in mind it makes keeping and finding new "opportunities" more important and essential.

There are at least three social networks you should be a member of if your not.

1. - LinkedIn. http://www.linkedin.com

LinkedIn is not as popular as twitter or facebook but services a completely different purpose which is extremely useful. Think of it as facebook pro. It is a way of connecting with co-workers, contractors, people you have worked with; without allowing them to see those embarrassing "Facebook Pictures" from the weekend.

2. - Twitter http://www.twitter.com

Twitter is extremely powerful. It's openness is what allows you connect with people in your community and those with similar interest. This can lead to huge networking or employment opportunities. Many companies are tieing their twitter accoutns to linkedIn and are actively promoting open positions. This is also a great tool for finding out what people really think and if they will fit into your companies culture and if the company is a good fit for you.

3. - Facebook http://www.facebook.com

More of a closed personalized social networking application this is still a tool that should not be ignored. You never know when a close friend or family member know of an opportunity but are unaware of your current employment status. You never know who knows of an opportunity and you should not limit yourself in any way.

Keeping and managing a good online reputation is difficult. The best advice I can give is the following. Having an online reputation is very important in today's world especially for web developers and it is easy to put your foot in your mouth. That being said I find this is the best way I've found managing my online reputation.

1) Let people know where you stand, if your open, transparent, honest and true to your beliefs you don't have anything to worry about. You are who you are, some will criticize you; some will agree with you.

2) Put yourself out there but be mindful and respectful of others, everyone is entitled to an opinion.

3) Know the line between your opinion and the companies. Most companies don't let or like employees going on twitter, facebook or linked in because they are worried about their image and for good reason. If your representing a company on social networks be clear when your representing the company and when your representing yourself. I find it's best to have your own personal social networking account and the companies social networking account. Keep them separate; it creates a clear division between you and the company.

If the average person will be going through at least four different "career" jobs before retiring, having a good network, is going to be extremely helpful. What does that say for how the future of employment will be in the future?

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

Windows Phone 7 and SD Cards What You NEED to Know

2010-11-17T08:56:00.001-07:00

Windows Phone 7 and SD Cards

For those of you interested in upgrading any kind of SD card you get with your Windows Phone 7, you better do it when you purchase the phone. Documentation obtained from 3rd party manufactures such as Samsung which indicates that Windows Phone 7 uses the SD card for memory, and makes the card unusable by other devices such as your computer even if you attempt to format it.

Hey if you don't believe me check the original documentation.

Product :Total:Phones & Fax Machines:US Mobile Phones:AT&T 12-11-2010

How to guides

AT&T : Does Windows Phone support microSD card for Memory Expansion?

Windows Phone 7 and microSD Cards

Users are strongly encouraged to review this section carefully before inserting the right type of microSD card into Focus, a Windows Phone 7 device.

Windows Phone 7 does not support freely swapping microSD Cards in and out.

Many commercially available retail microSD cards are not approved for use in Windows Phone 7. Use of unapproved cards may cause performance degradation or device instability including unexpected reset and loss of user data. A microSD card class is not an indication of meeting Windows Phone 7 requirements. Approved cards can be obtained from the manufacturer or Mobile Operator.

Once inserted and properly formatted, the memory card becomes an inseparable part of the phone.

A microSD card inserted into a Windows Phone 7 device and integrated into the device's file system is intended to be a permanent modification to the device. Once a microSD card has been integrated into a Windows Phone 7 device's file system, it will no longer be readable or writable on any other devices such as computers, cameras, printers, and so on. This includes an inability to format the microSD card for use in these devices. Improper use (including inserting or removing) of microSD cards on Windows Phone 7 devices may result in one or more of the following:

System error while powering on the device that prevents the Windows Phone 7 operating system from loading. Note that emergency dialing will function properly.
Inaccurate reporting of available storage.
Loss of access to or removal of installed applications.
Loss of access to or removal of user data/media stored on the microSD card.
Loss of access to or removal of user data or media stored internally within the Windows Phone 7 device.
Overall file system performance degradation.
Device lockup or reset.

Inserting or Removing the Memory Card

To insert or remove a microSD card, you have to reset your phone by using a procedure called a hard reset.

Warning!: A hard reset resets your phone to its factory default settings and wipes all data (pictures, video, contacts, music, and so on) from your phone. Make sure your data is saved to your PC. For more information, refer to “Sync with PC”.

Inserting a microSD Card into a Windows Phone 7

Simply inserting a microSD card into a Windows Phone 7 device and restarting the device will result in the card being ignored by the phone. To insert a microSD card into your phone, follow these instructions carefully.

If the microSD card contains any data, make sure you back up the contents before inserting it into your Windows Phone 7. The microSD card will be reformatted to be part of the Windows Phone 7 file system and all data will be lost.
Press and hold the Power key to power off the phone, if necessary, and open the battery cover.
Insert the microSD card into the SD slot located on device. For more information, refer to “Installing the Memory Card”.
Power up the device by pressing the Camera key , Volume down key , and Power key .

Note: If the download mode screen displays, go back to step 1 and try again.

When the device vibrates, release the Power key, but continue pressing the Camera and Volume down keys. Once the device displays the Are you sure you want to format? screen, release the Camera and Volume down keys.

Press the Window key to Format the device.

Note: Formatting erases all erases all user data stored on the device and on the microSD card.

Press the Window key again to confirm that you want to format the device.

Warning!: Do not remove the battery while formatting your phone. Wait until the device switches on and displays the Home screen.

After formatting is complete, the Start-up Wizard screen is displayed.
After start-up is complete, from the Home screen, tap > Settings > system > about to verify that available memory has been updated.

Permanently Remove a microSD Card from a Windows Phone 7

To permanently remove a microSD card from a Windows Phone 7 device, follow these instructions:

Press and hold the Power key to power off the phone, if necessary, and open the battery cover.
Remove the microSD card from the SD slot located on device.

Note: Once removed, this microSD card is not readable or writable on other devices such as computers, cameras, printers, and so on.

Power up the device by pressing the Camera key, Volume down key, and Power key. When the device vibrates, release the Power key, but continue pressing the Camera and Volume down keys. Once the device displays the Are you sure you want to format? screen, release the Camera and Volume down keys (see Step 4 above).
Press the Window key to Format the device.

Note: Formatting erases all user data stored on the device.

Press the Window key again to confirm that you want to format the device.
After formatting is complete, the Start-up Wizard screen is displayed.
After start-up is complete, from the Home screen, tap > Settings > system > about to verify that available memory has been updated.

For more information on the SGH-i917 Focus, please click the banner below.

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

Canada - The Big Brother Country.

2010-11-16T09:58:00.003-07:00

Privacy in Canada, you may as well forget it. This month the government has tabled three new bills C-50, C-51 and C-52 which have huge implications on your privacy rights in Canada. This is being brought to you by the guys who don't like the gun registry; instead they will tell you that you can have your gun so long as we can snoop on every part of your digital life. What the hell am I talking about? Here is what's going on.

These bills are so called "Law and Order Bills or Spy on Canadians Bills" more or less. Here is the jist of the bills. The bills contain a 3 way approach when it comes to information disclosure, surveillance technology/methods and police powers.

Part 1 mandates the disclosure of Internet provider customer information without court over site. So no warrant required, if you look intimidating and have a fake badge you could potentially get a hold of personal information such as customer name, address, phone number, email address, Internet protocol address, and a series of device identification numbers (MAC Addresses).

While some of that information may seem harmless, it gives authorities the ability to link it with other data. This is bad. It could give authorities the power to create a detailed profile about an identifiable person. The decision to require disclosure without any oversight (like a court order where you have to have a reasonable amount of cause or suspicion to get one) should raise a huge florescent RED Flag.

Part 2 requires that ISP (Internet Service Providers like shaw, telus, rogers, bell) provide real time surveillance (spying). I hope you don't like doing online banking, because they will get the keys to anything you do. This is called a Man In The Middle Attack. The worst part of this is RCMP Background checks are required if they take part in any kind of Data capture. Which is good but IF THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THE EQUIPMENT THEY CAN DO IT ANYWAY!!! Until after the fact. Love the idea of someone being able to get a hold of my personal information and passwords at my ISP building because the staff have access to the hardware that is required to be their by law. How about then ALL ISPs have to do background checks on all staff that are hired!!! This part here will also kill a lot of smaller ISP because the law requires a lot more commercialized hardware then what is typically required for being a ISP.

Part 3 gives the police new powers such as the ability to get something called "transmission data warrants" that would grant real-time access to all the information generated during the creation, transmission or reception of a communication including the type, direction, time, duration, origin, destination or termination of the communication.

Police could then obtain a "preservation order" to require ISPs to preserve subscriber information, including specific communication information, for 90 days. Then having obtained and preserved the data, production orders can be used to require the disclosure of specified communications or transmission data.

This puts ISP's in a weird situation. While they should actively work with law enforcement in collecting and disclosing the subscriber information, (only after due process with reasonable suspicion or cause) they could also be prohibited from disclosing the disclosures. Courts could restrict them from informing subscribers that they have been subject to surveillance and/or information disclosures.

A few would argue that it is important to ensure that law enforcement has the necessary tools to address online crime issues. Yet these changes would come at a huge financial and privacy cost. The excuse for this is that police can only gather limited evidence and that the current legal framework has impeded important police work.

I would argue not all this is necessary. I feel people should be required to get a warrant for the Data Transmissions first. As for ISP's keeping track of "My Information" I don't think I'll be doing any kind of online banking in the future if this is what's going to happen. It is going to be to easy for a person to get my information from the ISP's. Not to mention all the security requirements I would want to prevent "unauthorized" use of the computer hardware that can do the Man In the Middle attacks. I know if I were a tech savvy crook, after this law were passed I would try get a job at an ISP. You could access hundreds of thousands of people's personal information with no trouble. Work a night shift, get a persons facebook username and password, online baking information. If I were a crook, this is everything I would be hoping for and more. The best part about this from the crooks point of view is I could write a program or virus compromise the ISP's systems and have all the traffic route though 50 billion servers. It's the perfect crime.

<sarcasm>I'm so glad our politicians are here to protect us. They have indeed thought this through</sarcasm>

So here are changes that should be made to the following 3 laws. Part 1 needs to change where you need to get a court order to track data. Data gathering should be limited to that account and should only be stored for the person who the court order is for. NOT TRACKED FOR EVERYBODY AND KEPT FOR MONTHS!!! Part 2 needs to be changed so Police have to provide a special server for doing the Man in the middle attack. Police have their own IT personnel who are required to have background checks done, etc. They should be providing a server to the ISP's but only when a warrant has been issued to track an account. I feel better about police only having access to the server then the ISP staff who have what kind of background???? Part 3 is a no brainier. Yes we need these warrants we have been saying that for years but the way this is setup is all screwed up and backwards. WARRANT FIRST!!!! then you can do the rest of the stuff not the other way around. Remember innocent before guilty?

Trevor

Sources:

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5451/135/

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4740653&Language=e&Mode=1

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4745885&Language=e&Mode=1

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4753163&Language=e&Mode=1

http://www.thestar.com/news/sciencetech/technology/lawbytes/article/889359--geist-lawful-access-legislation-would-reshape-canada-s-internet

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

My letter about metered internet

2010-11-12T14:22:00.001-07:00

Dear Mr. Rathgeber and Mr. Clement,

I am writing this to express my extreme displeasure about the current ruling by the CRTC to allow basically metered internet in Canada. First off the CRTC is a regulator for television and radio, it has vested interest in seeing those formats continue and therefore is not in a position to make a ruling like this. Also the costs for bandwidth from companies such as Telus, Rogers, Shaw and Bell is almost next to nothing, and are already gorging the consumer when it comes to "Internet Costs".

In many forward thinking countries Internet Access has been made a human rights (In case your out of touch you can read about it on Wikipedia). Essentially if you want to kill all 21st century innovation you will allow this ruling to stand. If you need an expaination of why allowing this ruling to stand it will kill all Innovation in Canada here it is. First off you will never see any kind of "Facebook" be created in Canada, the cost to host such a website on a home or small business server will be to expensive if it ever caught on and took off. Small Print shops would no longer be able to afford to host FTP servers for clients to send them files. A proper 10' x 5' popup display that you see at tradeshows usually are around 1 - 2 gigabytes in size. So say you do 6 a week on top of other print files that are say on average of 300 - 500mb you will quickly use up your quota and get a huge bill from one of the four large ISPs.

Now that you can get services like Netflix, online gaming with games such as WOW, Starcraft II, etc, you are talking about homes that use huge amounts of bandwidth. Not to mention people that use offsite backup companies such as carbonite. Here is what the current Bell Bandwidth Cap the Telus Caps and Shaw Caps are. I implore you to over turn this ruling because it is the wrong ruling for Canada. It is easy to see how someone can over their bandwidth cap, and what's waiting for us consumers who are unaware we are approaching or have surpassed our bandwidth limit? A Huge Bill which has been billed per gigabyte as compared to being moved to the next tier of service.

I urge you, stand up for Canadians, Innovation in the long run is more important then short term monetary gain.

Trevor Tye
http://www.optionkey.ca

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

Credit card security and why it's a joke

2010-11-05T10:45:00.001-06:00

Can you breath and walk? Guess what you can get a credit card. That right even with the "Economic Collapse" you can still get a credit card pretty easily. Also guess what you can use a credit card for (besides buying stuff)... That right ID. With no identifiable features it is accepted as a form of personal identification. As Air Canada learned that's not such a good idea.

It's time we started demanding better. Credit cards should be if not more secure then our Driver's license in my opinion. They should have all of if not more security features. One of the major things that are missing from credit cards is Photo ID on the card with your signature. I'm not stopping their, there should be the holographic and UV security features as well to help stop fraud otherwise anyone with an inkjet printer and a laminator could make driver's license. Most credit cards are issued by your local bank; where they can securely take your picture so it's not that big of an issue for the banks to implement this.

Considering the cost of fraud I am really surprised this is not already implemented. It is a pain in the butt for the customer to start however I think they will appreciate the security. Especially considering the "Chip" method in most debit and credit cards is mostly a joke. The Chip Encryption was hacked in 2008. So like a debit card if someone is watching you they get your pin, then takes your wallet, can then have a free shopping spree since photo ID is not required to use your credit card. FYI if you haven't signed the back of your credit card; you are voiding your terms of service with your credit card company.

In a time where you can find out anything about anyone from social networks such as Facebook, blippy, and foursquare; if we don't demand better security we won't get it. It is a small inconvience for a big piece of mind. These security features should go along way to help prevent fraud and they should also be used on debit cards. I don't know about you but if we had a secure ID process for credit cards especially for verifing who is using them, I would feel better about using them.

For more blog posts and podcasts please visit http://www.optionkey.ca

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

Windows Phone 7 Series And What to Expect

2010-10-06T11:32:00.001-06:00

Microsoft needs a home run with Windows 7 Mobile, and from what I've seen, I'm not impressed. When the original iPhone was released it didn't do multi-tasking and was quite limited in what it was allowed to do. You can read Paul Thurrott's review of the iPhone here http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/iphone.asp

Now Paul is giving the Windows 7 Mobile phone glowing reviews. On several Windows Weekly Podcasts Paul has mentioned time and time again how great this windows 7 mobile is. I know Paul is a Microsoft "Fan Boy" and I will reserve judgment until I see a device for myself. To be fair I am not expecting much out of Microsoft, with the amount of "Success" (Yes I use that term loosely) they have had with the Zune, I don't see Microsoft having much success in the mobile phone space. I do feel however if you critized a phone from a different manufacture for not having something when it was launched then you turn around and say it's great that this phone is great even without this feature your being a bit hypocritical (or just being a fanboy). As far as I'm concerned Microsoft is 2 - 3 years behind on the mobile platform.

Here is the short of what I am expecting from The Windows 7 Phone.

It will loosely integrate with xBox live. It won't do anything great and I don't expect it to play any major games, you will probably be able to modify characters for RPGs, send messages, pictures, music to your xBox but that's about the extent of it. There may be a future for games in games where you can play games on your phone and it will integrate with an xBox game you play. Since most of those games are first person shooters that is unlikely. It will also loosely integrate with windows live essentials and Messenger, that will cover the consumer part of the business (which is where they should be targeting). Now where are they targeting the 1% corporate consumer where they will get it because they are Microsoft. It will have tight integration with exchange and office. Expect complete iMap syncing, calendar syncing (the usual). The major difference with Windows Phone 7 and everyone else. Office. There is no really good integration with Microsoft Office on the iPhone, Android or BlackBerry. This is probably the only reason why someone will buy a Windows Phone 7.

From what I've seen Microsoft needs a home run and it looks like they hit a single. I'm not expecting much, I'm expecting to see some kind of mash up and copying of Android, and iOS. Needless to say it is going to be wired. The best example of the Microsoft's Windows 7 Release would have been the ill-fated Kin which Microsoft kill very shortly after launch; probably creating some sort of record for the shortest product life span.

If Microsoft wants a successful product they are going to need all these features.

Video Playback - .mp4, .mkv, and .wmv
Audio Playback - .mp3, .aac, and .wma
A Really Great photo editor and management system
A really slick mobile browser (Were going to see how ie 9 does on mobile)
IT MUST have office or a light version of it.
It must have an cheap or free way for developers to make apps for the platform (If you charge they will not come)

Even with all that it's going to be hard to convince handset manufactures to go with Windows mobile when you can get Android (for Free). Android also has a 2 year head start on Windows Mobile.

I have a feeling that like the Zune in the portable music industry, Microsoft with end up with a low percentage of the market share, and they will probably be just fine with that.

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

I want a laptop what do I need?

2010-09-22T13:33:00.001-06:00

I want a laptop what do I need?

I get asked this question a lot. As I tell everyone it depends on what you want to do. Do you want something for word processing and checking email or a desktop replacement? Do you want to do some photo editing, or something for gaming. Those are some of the things I need to know to get an idea of what to recommend to you. There are a few things that you need to know about a laptop before we get to the details

Hard Drive Size Doesn't Matter - Hard Drives are typically replaceable. There are only a few laptops such as the Apple Macbooks and Macbook Pros are great examples where you have to literally take apart the computer to replace the hard drive. In most Windows and Linux based laptops it is two screws to remove the cover to replace the hard drive.

RAM - Ram can be upgraded; however you do need to check what the maximum ram is that your system can take. Some manufactures cheap out and what you get in the laptop is what you get forever. To check what your laptop's maximum ram check the manufacture's website or check kingston memory configuration.

How fast and the amount of battery life the Laptop is depends on all the components of the computer. For instance a 7200 RPM hard drive will be faster then a 5400 RPM hard drive but use more power. However the a 5400 RPM hard drive will more likely give better battery life. Something to keep in mind.

What to Expect For The Budget.

Basic Computing Needs

If the basic computers for web surfing and word processing I would say budget for $300 - $600. This will be a basic low end word processing and web surfing computer. It won't be great for much more then that. These computers have been designed not to do very much, and you will probably get very frustrated with it after about a year. The processors are the low end slow processors, and are typically processors Like the Intel P6000 to the Intel Atom N270 and everything in between those processors in the table below. These computers are typically very low power and have a longer battery life depending on what your power settings are set to.

Moderate Performance / Desktop Replacement

For the regular desktop replacement or for something that can do a little bit more then word processing and web surfing; I would recommend a $600 - $1500 budget. These laptops would be good for everyday desktop use, be able to do some gaming (you will get better performance if you have a dedicated graphics card). The main difference from shared and dedicated graphics cards is the memory on the computer isn't shared therefore you should always have better performance from a dedicated graphics card. Processors I would recommend for this price point would be The AMD P820, N830, P920, N930 and the Intel i3 330, i3 350, i5 430, i5 450. The GPU's I would look for to come with these processors would be the Nvidia 310m, Nvidia 330m, Nvidia GTS 250m, ATI 5470, ATI 5650 and ATI 5730.

High End Gaming/Performance

For the High End Gaming/Performance Laptop I would budget between $1500 - $2500. The ONLY AMD processor I would recommend would be AMD Phenom II N930. It is a quad core processor and the only one I've seen in stores in a laptop that can even come close to the performance of the i7. On the Intel side I would recommend the Intel Core i7 720QM and Intel Core i7 740QM. These are both Quad core i7's unlike the i7 620M which is only a dual core processor. (Sorry to break it to you Apple People). For the Graphics processor I would select ATI Mobility HD 5730, Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M, Nvidia GeForce GTS 360M, GeForce GTX 280M, Mobility Radeon HD 5850, and the Mobility Radeon HD 5870. Obviously the battery life on this laptop will not be very long; but lets face it your not buying this kind of laptop for the battery life.

When I buy and select the hardware I try go for best performance for your dollar. These are some good deals I've found online; if you look for similar hardware from your local store they should be around the same price.

Asus EEE PC 1001P - Approx $359.99

Acer Aspire 5553-2847 - Approx $569.99

Acer 5741 - Approx $699.95

ASUS K52JR-X2 - Approx $870.00

Sony VAIO VPCEB27FX/L - Approx $1000.00

Sony VAIO VPCF126FM/B - Approx $1349.99

ASUS G73JH-A1 - Approx $1698.88

ASUS G73JH-B1 - Approx $1849.95

Here is a list of common mobile CPU's and GPU's listed from slowest to fastest. I composed this list from the commonly used processors and graphic processors that are for sale in most notebooks. For the ratings I've referenced passmark.net to compose the list.

Processors (CPU's)	Score (Higher is Better)	Graphics (GPU's)	Score (Higher is Better)
Intel Atom N270	305	Intel Media Accelerator 500	24
Intel Atom N280	309	ATI Mobility HD 4200	103
Intel Atom N450	322	Nvidia Ion LE	104
AMD V120	667	Nvidia Ion	108
AMD Athlon X2 L310	673	ATI Mobility HD 4250	184
AMD Athlon Neo L325	794	ATI Mobility HD 4330	232
Intel SU7300	977	Nvidia GeForce 310M	285
AMD Turion RM-75	1091	ATI Mobility HD 5145	308
AMD Athlon II M300	1183	ATI Mobility HD 5470	312
Intel Core i3 330UM	1205	Nvidia GeForce 320M	317
AMD Athlon II P320	1292	Intel HD	319
Intel Core2 Duo T6570	1344	Intel Media Accelerator HD	329
Intel T4300	1420	Nvidia GeForce GT 330M	480
Intel P6000	1451	ATI Mobility HD 5650	611
Intel T4400	1515	Nvidia GeForce GT 335M	625
Intel Core2 Duo T6600	1566	Nvidia GeForce GTS 250M	658
Intel T4500	1581	ATI Mobility HD 5730	675
AMD Phenom II P820	1655	Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M	701
AMD Phenom II N620	1824	Nvidia GeForce GT 240	779
Intel Core i3 370M	1858	Nvidia GeForce GTS 360M	859
AMD Phenom II N830	1954	GeForce GTX 280M	912
Intel Core i3 330M	1975	Mobility Radeon HD 5850	927
Intel Core i3 350M	2071	ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870	1245
Intel Core i5 430M	2360	For more detailed information about the Intel Processors such as how much power it uses and other features visit http://ark.intel.com/ For more detailed information about the AMD Processors such as how much power it uses and other features visit AMD Processor Page
Intel Core i5 450M	2504
Intel Core i5 520M	2344
Intel Core i5 540M	2440
AMD Phenom II N930	2477
Intel Core i7 620M	2753
Intel Core i7 720QM	3250
Intel Core i7 740QM	3618

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

Software EULA's; Private Resale and the law

2010-09-10T13:53:00.001-06:00

An important court ruling in the United States has much wider implications for users then they know; if you think buying that old copy of software such as an older version of Adobe Photoshop from an auction or because a company is going out of business think again. The US court as passed a ruling which could change everything. The case is Vernor v. Autodesk is what set the president. Autodesk was trying to keep Vernor from reselling software he got from a an architects office sale. So for those of you selling software you purchased on Kijiji, EBay and Craigslist read this carefully! In the Software EULA's such as in Autodesk and Electronic Arts's you can not transfer the software license, even if you physically own the disk and have a ligament serial number.

This ruling will probably have the following effect in the future:

specifies that the user is granted a license or life time subscription
significantly restricts the user’s ability to transfer the software or digital media
imposes notable use restrictions

With this ruling I think you will start seeing a lot more EULA's and more notably digital media EULA's more emphasizing the purchaser as the licensee. In essence this will end any ownership of digital media and software unless your the one holding the copyright to said item. What does this mean for reselling computers? Do you have to format that old windows 2000 machine or iMac and install linux if you want to sell it? (Ok that's not such a bad thing - I am referring to the installing LINUX folks!) So what we have to do now is lobby our governments to allow for the transfer of these digital licensed. For example if you father has a huge iTunes library and dies, you would not be allowed to take those songs any of them you wanted you would have to re-buy them; where if they were a physical disk they would be yours to do with as you wished. What if someone bought a private company do you have to re-buy all the software because the software is technically licensed under the former owner?

I would like to think our governments can be trusted to handle these kind of issues, but based on their track records with copyright laws such as the DMCA in the US and Bill C-32 here in Canada and the ACTA Treaty I don't have much faith. Write your elected representative, and let's make sure that our consumer writes are being protected because right now there not.

Read Arstechnica article

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

Google Voice Comes To Canada

2010-08-27T09:35:00.002-06:00

Yesterday in Canada for those of us who didn't have a Grande Central account got at small taste of Google Voice. I love it. Unlimited calling to anyone in Canada, and the US for free. Now this is just the tip of the iceberg, the full featured Google Voice allows you to consolidate all your numbers into one number. In the US you register for a number and you can forward any phone number you have to your Google voice number. We don't have this in Canada yet but I am eagerly awaiting.

I will be one of the first Canadians to get a Google Voice number when it becomes available, giving a much need competitive boost to the VOIP phone service here in Canada which is a RIP OFF in my opinion. For instance if you order say Shaw phone service which is just VOIP phone service you pay 30.95 as a standalone service and you get everything Google voice is giving you for free minus the phone number right now but I believe that to be a regulatory problem (you know government it takes them forever to do anything). Not only that Shaw is charging you 4 cents a minute for long distance when other VOIP services such as the one with Skype is about half the price, so yes we are being hosed because we can be.

I made a call to the US last night and 3 calls to Calgary and it didn't cost me a penny and the voice quality was fantastic! When I get a Google voice number I'll be getting a VOIP Phone adapter so my wife can use it as a phone with my Google Voice account. I can't wait this is really exciting, this will change the whole game of telecommunications here in Canada if Google can hurry up and get here. It will bring much need competition to the Canadian market that we have been missing since well ever!

There is no Android or iPhone app for Google Voice that I am aware of but if someone wants to send me one they can via twitter @trevortye or email me trevortye@optionkey.ca

VOIP Phone Adapter

http://www.voipgizmos.com/shopexd.asp?id=448&bc=no

Dlink USB Phone Adapter

http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=466

Skype Phone Adapter

http://www.von-phone.com/usb_skype_phone_adapter.php

Skype Out Rate

http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/prices/?currency=HKD

Shaw Phone Details

http://www.shaw.ca/cmsShawCA/Templates/LandingLocalized.aspx?NRMODE=Published...{3D11A5AF-C6EB-4FBF-B79D-3C30DF651A9C}&NRORIGINALURL=%2fen-ca%2fProductsServices%2fDigitalPhone%2fComparePlans%2f&NRCACHEHINT=Guest

To read the review of the US version of Google voice

http://news.cnet.com/google-voice-flawed-but-still-awesome/

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog

My take on the future on Edmonton City Centre Airport

2010-08-26T17:03:00.001-06:00

I'm a tech geek, taxpayer, husband. I'm not a politician, aviation expert, or a person with any interest in the City Centre Airport. I am however going to put in my 2 cents. I read a very interesting post from Councilor Bryan Anderson on the fate of the City Centre Airport; I have also listed to several interviews on 630 Ched, and on CBC. Needless to say there are vested interest on both sides of the debate. I must give credit to the side that wants to close the airport. Their information is easier to find and is less cryptic in my opinion. Taking on twitter about the issue can be quite toxic, even though I did meet a few good tweeters I am glad I met, who give a very civilized debate about the Airport. However the side that wants to keep the airport open some of the members seem to take offense if you say something they don't like which really doesn't help their argument.

My opinion of the City Centre Airport is, enough of the mickey mouse operations. Either use it as an airport using it to it's fullest potential or get rid of it. It is on prime real estate in Edmonton, and can easily be developed for the good of the city. That being said having the airport can be handy but not how it is being used now with limited flight service. Either maximize it's performance or get rid of it. From what I've read and listened to it is an asset. Like all assets either it performs or it doesn't. If an asset doesn't perform you usually get rid of it. It is about doing what's best for Edmonton now and in the future.

That's just my 2 cents.

Some interesting and informative links.

http://bryananderson.ca/cms/HotCivicIssues/CityCentreAirportBytheNumbers.aspx

http://flyeia.com/news/general/edmonton_city_centre_airport_information_avail...

http://blog.mastermaq.ca/2010/07/31/photo-tour-of-the-edmonton-city-centre-ai...

http://adhdcanuck.wordpress.com/2010/07/31/edmonton-airport-debate-closed-now...

http://www.jetpro.ca/faq.html

Posted via email from The OptionKey Blog