Watch out for flying anachronisms.
As much as we all love CBC, they are a tad behind the times. While it is true that CBC is an institution in Canada and still one of the country's largest media companies, they don't seem to be up on the latest developments. Or even the latest developments from 10 years ago, at least in some local markets.
This morning, CBC Radio 1's Saint John proved to be a particular embarrassment to tech-savvy people within their broadcast range as the two morning show pundits reported with breathless excitement about the arrival of the first hybrid taxi (a Toyota Prius) in the Port City. They then felt the need to explain to the audience what a hybrid car was. As if we have all been under a rock and are unaware of the existence of gasoline/diesel-electric drives. Then, one of the uninformed pundits asked the driver of the cab, which was pulled up in the station's parking lot, if the electric portion of the drive was reliable and could stand up to the high mileage of use as a taxi. YES!! Morons! Hybrid drives have been around for nearly ten years now, and are already in use by taxi companies in other cities. One would think that the bugs have been worked out by now. And its not as if ordinary gas engines never break down, noooo...
Maybe this whole mess was brought on by the fact that Saint John is a very blue-collar town, where about 40% of the vehicles on the roads are pickup trucks. I can see reactions of "What do you mean, it has an electric motor? - I thought those were for washing machines." Perhaps it's just a case of dumbing the show down to the lowest common denominator. Which in the roughneck town is pretty low, it would appear. Then, to deepen the silliness, the exclaimed breathlessly about how quiet the car was a it drove away. Sounds different from a V-8 truck engine, doesn't it fellas?
In tech-not-available-in-Canada, Amazon is taking a crack at the e-book market with its first branded hardware offering, the Kindle. While it is not the sexiest gadget we've seen lately (in fact, it looks a lot like a leftover prop from 2001: A Space Odyssey), it seems kinda cool... using an EV-DO cellphone network (Sprint's) it can download books from an initial catalogue of 90, 000 titles, including new releases and New York Times best sellers, from a base price of about $9.99, plus newspapers, various blogs, and Wikipedia. Its a stand-alone device, unlike its competitors, and uses a very clear E Ink - provided screen. The reader, unfortunately, is $399, and due to high wireless data rates in Canada is unlikely to arrive north of the border any time soon. Much like that other wonder-gadget, the iPhone, which has been stalled by data rates and a trademark dispute with a Toronto-based VoIP provider. For those of you lucky enough to get the latest technology, which hasn't been happening to us lately, the Kindle could pay for itself if you (a) like to read the bestsellers and (b) don't wait for the paperback. Say you buy books at the bestseller price (let's use round numbers) of $10, and the average print edition (hardcover) runs for $30, thats a $20 savings per book, in which case the Kindle is paid for after 20 books. There seems to be a bit of instant gratification built into this business model, since you could just wait for the paperback and come up with the same savings and not have to shell out for anything up front. But hey, maybe their are enough impatient bookworms out there to make the Kindle pay off for Amazon. Instant gratification is good in small doses, and I wouldn't classify being well-read as a vice.
In oh-no-you-didn't (*snap*) news, Iran is once again threatening to stop selling oil for US dollars calling the once-mighty greenbacks 'worthless pieces of paper', according to a BBC report. Iran has for some time now been floating the idea of pegging the price of oil to the Euro, rather than the USD, hence reducing the influence of the American economy on theirs. Which is a feeling most Canadians can relate too. But the price of oil and a budding nuclear program gives two very good reasons (the first economic, the second politically expedient) for Bush et al. to send some Marines to knock down the door as it were and take over another southwest Asian state. Because, you know, some people seem to think that blood for oil is a good trade, especially when the blood isn't yours.
This morning, CBC Radio 1's Saint John proved to be a particular embarrassment to tech-savvy people within their broadcast range as the two morning show pundits reported with breathless excitement about the arrival of the first hybrid taxi (a Toyota Prius) in the Port City. They then felt the need to explain to the audience what a hybrid car was. As if we have all been under a rock and are unaware of the existence of gasoline/diesel-electric drives. Then, one of the uninformed pundits asked the driver of the cab, which was pulled up in the station's parking lot, if the electric portion of the drive was reliable and could stand up to the high mileage of use as a taxi. YES!! Morons! Hybrid drives have been around for nearly ten years now, and are already in use by taxi companies in other cities. One would think that the bugs have been worked out by now. And its not as if ordinary gas engines never break down, noooo...
Maybe this whole mess was brought on by the fact that Saint John is a very blue-collar town, where about 40% of the vehicles on the roads are pickup trucks. I can see reactions of "What do you mean, it has an electric motor? - I thought those were for washing machines." Perhaps it's just a case of dumbing the show down to the lowest common denominator. Which in the roughneck town is pretty low, it would appear. Then, to deepen the silliness, the exclaimed breathlessly about how quiet the car was a it drove away. Sounds different from a V-8 truck engine, doesn't it fellas?
In tech-not-available-in-Canada, Amazon is taking a crack at the e-book market with its first branded hardware offering, the Kindle. While it is not the sexiest gadget we've seen lately (in fact, it looks a lot like a leftover prop from 2001: A Space Odyssey), it seems kinda cool... using an EV-DO cellphone network (Sprint's) it can download books from an initial catalogue of 90, 000 titles, including new releases and New York Times best sellers, from a base price of about $9.99, plus newspapers, various blogs, and Wikipedia. Its a stand-alone device, unlike its competitors, and uses a very clear E Ink - provided screen. The reader, unfortunately, is $399, and due to high wireless data rates in Canada is unlikely to arrive north of the border any time soon. Much like that other wonder-gadget, the iPhone, which has been stalled by data rates and a trademark dispute with a Toronto-based VoIP provider. For those of you lucky enough to get the latest technology, which hasn't been happening to us lately, the Kindle could pay for itself if you (a) like to read the bestsellers and (b) don't wait for the paperback. Say you buy books at the bestseller price (let's use round numbers) of $10, and the average print edition (hardcover) runs for $30, thats a $20 savings per book, in which case the Kindle is paid for after 20 books. There seems to be a bit of instant gratification built into this business model, since you could just wait for the paperback and come up with the same savings and not have to shell out for anything up front. But hey, maybe their are enough impatient bookworms out there to make the Kindle pay off for Amazon. Instant gratification is good in small doses, and I wouldn't classify being well-read as a vice.
In oh-no-you-didn't (*snap*) news, Iran is once again threatening to stop selling oil for US dollars calling the once-mighty greenbacks 'worthless pieces of paper', according to a BBC report. Iran has for some time now been floating the idea of pegging the price of oil to the Euro, rather than the USD, hence reducing the influence of the American economy on theirs. Which is a feeling most Canadians can relate too. But the price of oil and a budding nuclear program gives two very good reasons (the first economic, the second politically expedient) for Bush et al. to send some Marines to knock down the door as it were and take over another southwest Asian state. Because, you know, some people seem to think that blood for oil is a good trade, especially when the blood isn't yours.
posted by Colin at
6:17 p.m.
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