May

13

From the ’so simple why didn’t I think of it’ category

Filed Under How to, Musings | 3 Comments

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From the so simple why didnt I think of it category (image: scancard)A friend of mine pointed me to this brilliant post (via iPhone Central)

The concept is ; the front and back of all your barcoded membership cards, and carry them around in your .

To test it out I went to the local store and asked the girl
behind the counter if she could the barcode from my . The
first look I got was pure amazement. To her the physical card was
transformed into a picture on a shiny device. On top of that the
barcode was scanned successfully. The result; a slightly confused girl
and a happy me.

My take: I’m going to try this on my card and see if this works on my Pilot T|X.

Apr

8

Are Canadian telemarketers quaking in their boots? Maybe.

Filed Under Web | Leave a Comment


iOptOut logo. Woot!My position: telemarketing is annoying and should be eliminated. DO NOT WANT!
My reasoning: I did not for the call; hence it is an intrusion. It uses up my resources (time) without my request or approval. I did not for you to call me offering a home audit for an alarm company. My current is fine thank you. Don’t call me. I’ll call you.

As a result, my is locked on Do Not Disturb. I don’t hear the calls — all incoming calls go directly to mail. Nice and quiet now.

But why should I have to have a that screens my calls? I pay my company a fee just to add telemarketers to my ‘blocked’ list. I’m paying for the privilege of having a peaceful dinner at home.

Soon all this may , as will implement a Do Not Call list.

The government passed legislation in 2005 mandating the creation of a do-not-call registry. The registry is scheduled to take effect in mid-2008, yet many Canadians may be disappointed to learn about the exemption of a wide range of organizations (registered charities, with prior relationships, political parties, survey companies, and newspapers). Under the law, exempted organizations are permitted to make unsolicited telephone calls despite the inclusion of the number in the do-not-call registry.

So, there’s a loophole, and a rather large one at that. But wait…there’s more!

Canadians now have their own Do Not Call (iOptOut.ca), hosted by renowned --rights law professor Michale Geist. iOptOut (still in beta) is a where Canadians can register up to three numbers and addresses as part of setting up their iOptOut profile.

Once the profile is set up, iOptOut members select organizations to be notified of their preference to opt-out of marketing communciations. Just select an industry, say Newspaper, check all, and an will be sent to all registered newspapers indicating that you no longer want them calling or emailing you for subscriptions. By law they must comply.

As I understand it, ’s do not call legislation (and the official DNC registry) allows some organizations to be ‘exempt’ from the legislation. iOptOut fills that exemption hole.

How does iOptOut work?
iOptOut contains a database of organizations, all of which are exempted under the current law. When you register with iOptOut you create a personal list of organizations that you wish to opt-out from further marketing. You provide your name, telephone number(s) and address(es) and we send a message to each organization, on your behalf, asking that they remove you from their active marketing or polling lists. You could send a message to each organization yourself individually, but there are hundreds and the appropriate contact information is often difficult to obtain. iOptOut allows you to do this in bulk, opting out of dozens of organizations with a few clicks.

Do I still need to register my number with the “official” do-not-call registry once it is operational?
Yes. IOptOut complements the forthcoming do-not-call registry by filling in the gaps created by exempted organizations. You will still need to register your number with the do-not-call registry once it becomes operational.

So, I’ve opted out. We’ll see if this reduces the number of calls coming in from ‘Manitoba’ or ‘Ontario’. Unfortunately, there’s no way to opt out of incoming telemarketing calls from outside of . Savvy telemarketers will soon switch to services hosted in the America, or offshore. Sigh.

Quotes courtesy iOptOut.ca FAQ and Michael Geist’s blog.

Feb

13

Jott now offering local Canadian phone numbers

Filed Under Social Media, Web | 4 Comments


Jott now offering local Canadian phone numbers (image: logo_beta) I’ve wanted to post about Jott before, but have held off because this wasn’t available outside of Toronto. Contrary to popular , many Canadians live in towns, villages and cities other than Toronto.

To bring you up to speed quickly, Jott is a telephone-based -message-to-text that utilizes human and recognition to create reminders, and text messages. Just call one number, leave a message for the system, addressed to yourself, someone in your address (including a group), or even leave ‘tweets’. Leave the message and a few minutes later it’s transcribed and delivered.

So, no? But only for those in the “Centre of the Universetm” for the rest of us, it was a long distance call to Toronto to use Jott’s . And in , long distance rates are not all that inexpensive.

Now, things have changed. Earlier today I received this :

We are happy to announce that local numbers are finally here!

As most of you know, we have had a Toronto Jott number (647-724-5814) for some time and have been working on acquiring more local numbers across .

Still confused as to why we are not releasing a toll number? Jott requires caller ID to know who is sending a Jott to what contact information. In an effort to protect your , most mobile providers have blocked caller ID information from being passed to toll numbers. This leaves the alternative of using local access numbers across the country, so that everyone can send Jott messages without having to pay long distance fees.

Below is the list of available Jott numbers in . Find the number in your area code and program it to your speed dial today!
AURORA : +12898020110
CALGARY : +14037751288
: +17806287799
HALIFAX : +19024828120
HAMILTON : +19054819060
KITCHENER : +15199572711
LONDON : +15194898968
MARKHAM : +12898000110
MONTREAL : +15146670329
OTTAWA : +16136861502
QUEBEC CITY : +14189072209
SAINT JOHNS : +17097570047
SHERBROOKE : +18193401636
TORONTO : +16477245365
TORONTO : +14168001067
VANCOUVER : +17787868229
VANCOUVER : +16044841347
VICTORIA : +12509847093
WINDSOR : +15198000031
WINNIPEG : +12042728154

Now I’m a much happier camper. The only downside is if you a lot, you’ll need to keep these Jott local numbers handy.

Welcome to the rest of the Great White North Jott!

Sep

11

Apple iPhone and iPod Touch viewers needed

Filed Under Doing | 7 Comments


Apple iPhone and iPod Touch viewers needed (image: ) I’ve just installed the and Touch compatible theme/plugin for (iWPhone) by .Robot, and have no way of it. There’s a Safari iPhone browser emulator available if you’re running a mac, but alas, I’m a PC guy.

So, hence this call for testers; Is anyone out there able to hit this site and check it with an or Touch? If so, and you have a spare moment, I’d appreciate a quick note/comment etc that you did and what your was like.

There may be one complicating factor…I’m also running Alex King’s excellent Wordpress Mobile Edition plugin (which works great for most mobile browsers), but I’m not sure if it’ll conflict, take over, or handoff nicely to the .

So please, if you’re enabled, let me know how this blog looks (or even send a screen shot, if you can)! It would be appreciated.

Or, actually, if you’re mobile enabled and have a moment, a screen shot of this site on your mobile browser too would be appreciated. I’m planning a follow-up to this post and will include shots received in it.

Sep

5

wiPod: the next big thing?

Filed Under News | 2 Comments


 If you managed to catch the today, the twitter-sphere was abuzz with it, is freshening its product line in preparation for this upcoming holiday sales season.

 wiPod: the next big thing? (image: ) As various pundits both at the event and monitoring it remotely twittered away, it seemed that Steve Jobs was at his best, once again, in front of a crowd of the converted. Gotta love live and .

What’s new in the catalogue for this season?  How about an Nano that includes .

Or, how about this thing: the iPod Touch (or as some are calling it, the wiPod): an without the .

It looks interesting; only the deluxe for me:

  • 16gb on board memory
  • 320 x 480 display
  • 802.11 b/g wi-fi
  • A bunch more stuff
  • $399.00 USD

 

wiPod: the next big thing? (image: ) For me, the wiPod isn’t that big a deal. I’m able to do most everything it can with my trusty Palm T|X. Sure, Blazer, the default browser is dated and needs updating to handle AJAX, streaming , etc. Also, an that properly syncs to Calendar would be appreciated. But to dump this and get a wiPod now is not in my cards.

But, should the battery die or the system brick, you can bet I’d be considering the  Touch as a replacement.

*** UPDATE ***

I recently went through some of the pros/cons of upgrading from a T|X to the Touch:

Downsides: Battery…replaceable by . has to be unscrewed to be opened and replaced.
No expansion cards… can take up to 2 GB. Swap and files by using more cards.
iTunes: must use it to copy and to the unit. 16GB is not enough when you have lots of and podcasts.
Price…have to buy one.

Upsides: It’s an . Stylish. . Screen is same size as . Plays more formats. New product at the beginning of it’s lifecycle, is near it’s end.
Price…own one.

 

Aug

17

This will surely free more of your valuable time

Filed Under Doing | Comments Off


Tim Ferriss (4 Hour Work WeekThis will surely free more of your valuable time (image: )) lists 9 items in his ‘Not To Do List’ that make sense and will up your time. I already do number 1, and try to do number 4:

1. Do not calls from unrecognized numbers
Feel to surprise others, but don’t be surprised. It just results in unwanted interruption and poor negotiating position. Let it go to voicemail, and consider using a like GrandCentral (you can listen to leaving voicemail) or Simulscribe (receive voicemails as e-mail).

4. Do not let ramble
Forget “how’s it going?” when someone calls you. Stick with “what’s up?” or “I’m in the middle of getting something out, but what’s going on?” A big part of is GTP—Getting To the Point.

The rest, I need to work on. Check out the list and the comments to his post. Lots of good stuff there.

Jul

27

Linklist - July 27, 2007

Filed Under In the life | Comments Off


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Jul

3

Is the iPhone right for you?

Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off


Walt Mossberg (Wall Street Journal tech guy) has a that may help:

 

Interesting item, but it’s still too pricey for me.

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