The achingly slow pace of iOS software development
The big news in the tech world yesterday was the launch of Apple’s latest iteration of the iPad. For those of us suffering the quintessential first world problem of being…
technology
Can Geeks Defeat Lies? Thoughts on a Fresh New Approach to Dealing With Online Errors, Misrepresentations, and Quackery
fact check universe.png This afternoon, I’ll be at MIT for this conference, sponsored by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard and the MIT Center for Civic Media…
Attack of the Drones – How Surveillance May Change our Culture
I’ve been following the rise of do it yourself (DIY) drones for a few years now, ever since Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired magazine, introduced me to the topic…
Obama goes ahead with a privacy…
…Bill of Rights in the States while here in Canada? Well, Vic wants to see it all! This is all about the consumer’s rights to privacy. The American legislation proposes…
I like this new app…
Instagram. Easy sharing. Doesn’t crash as often on my “old” 3s. And has some neat effect options. Trashy, Ottawa, Ontario
Want to Improve Science Communication? Start with Bad PowerPoint Habits
bad powerpoint.jpg In the past three months, I’ve spoken on panels at two scientific mega-conferences—the American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meeting in San Francisco, which draws tens of thousands of scientists,…
The Reality of the Paperless Office
A PDF- making company (no idea these eve existed) recently sent me something that caught my eye about a survey they conducted: In this survey, three out of every four…
More on Google Transit and how it is Reshaping a Public Service
Some of you know I’ve written a fair bit on Google transit and how it is reshaping public transit – this blog post in particular comes to mind. For more…
The Surveillance State – No Warrant Required
Yesterday a number of police organizations came out in support of bill C-30 – the online online surveillance bill proposed by Minister Vic Toews. You can read the Vancouver Police…
If you are going to have on-line registration…
… for a summer camp, PLEASE ensure that your servers are up to the task! Trashy, Ottawa, Ontario
Hot Invention Cools Down Environment
A seemingly banal industrial component is a heat exchanger and they can be ridiculously inefficient. What a heat exchanger does is regulate the temperature of machines that have to be…
Data Wars: A mini-case study of Southwest Airlines vs. TripIt and Orbitz
As a regular flyer, I’m an enormous fan of TripIt. It’s a simple service in which you forward almost any reservation – airline, hotel, car rental, etc… to plans@tripit.com and…
Goodbye to the VCR…
… it was a long ride. I remember my parents buying our first VCR. A big, hulking and noisy machine it was! And back in ’77 or so it likely…
I Stand for My Rights & Privacy: The Coming Online Police State
“He can either stand with us or with the child pornographers.” This was Mr. Toews’s, the Minister of Justice, counterattack to a question in the house regarding concerns of letting…
Two Reasons I love blogging: Helping out great communities
Non profits and governments… this is how open source works: If someone is doing something that is of value to you, help make it better. There have been two great…
Parliament in Review: December 2, 2011
Friday, December 2 saw the final day of debate in Parliament on the Cons’ omnibus crime bill. And for at least a moment, the proceedings took a perhaps surprising turn.…
The Exciting Launch of Represent.ca and What It Says About Open Data in Canada
Last week a group of volunteer programs from across Canada announced the launch of Represent.ca – a website that tries to map all of Canada’s boundaries. Confused? Don’t be. It’s…
Say “NO!” to C-11 now!
The Harper government re-introduced the Copyright Modernization Act, Bill C-11 in September 2011. Wonder about where the coverage is on Bill C-11? Me, too. SOPA + PIPA may be dead…
Algorithmic Regulation Spreading Across Government?
I was very, very excited to learn that the City of Vancouver is exploring implementing a program started in San Francisco in which “smart” parking meters adjust their price to…
Calculating the Value of Canada’s Open Data Portal: A Mini-Case Study
Okay, let’s geek out on some open data portal stats from data.gc.ca. I’ve got three parts to this review: First, an assessment on how to assess the value of data.gc.ca.…