Archive for July, 2006
July 6, 2006 at 8:53 pm · Filed under Art, Toronto
Who says you need some money to have a good time? Here’s a schedule of 7 things to do this summer, every week in Toronto. I’ve even thrown in a backup to mix it up.
Monday - Visit High Park Zoo - Open every night of the week from 7:00 AM to dusk.
Tuesday - Free classic monster movies in Yonge-Dundas Square, from 9 PM to 11 PM. See the schedule for showtimes.
Wednesday - See some works at the Art Gallery of Ontario, with free admission every Wednesday from 6 PM to 9 PM.
Thursday - Go play Manhunt in a new place every week in Toronto. Games start at 9:30 PM sharp every Thursday.
Friday - Get your culutre fix at the Royal Ontario Museum with free admission on Fridays from 4:30 PM to 9:30 PM.
Saturday - see some Shakespeare at the Dream in High Park 8:00 PM from Tuesday through Sunday.
Sunday - Some people gather for a weekly game of Kickball, Sunday nights at 6:30 pm at Alexandra Park.
Backup - If you need something else to do, you can always explore Kennsington, Spadina and the Annex with an eclectic audio tour thanks to Murmur.
July 6, 2006 at 8:43 pm · Filed under Computers, Movies, Music, Technology, Television, Uncategorized
Fulfilling promises made earlier this year, and in spite of some previously failed attempts (yes, that article is from 2004), Microsoft is going to introduce a new “iPod killer” before Christmas this year. (Another story)
Microsoft is being helped out by media companies (Music, Television, etc.). Because Apple dominates the digital music player and music download markets, they are able to strong arm the content providers and set the prices. Music labels and other media providers would like to see a more balanced market to be able to gain more control over their pricing.
For those of you who don’t know, iTunes and Microsoft-backed stores sell their songs with digital restrictions. These restrictions on the files prevent them from being copied a certain number of times, or can even cause the songs to “expire”, and stop working when the music store owner chooses. This also prevents music downloaded from iTunes from playing on Microsoft “Plays for Sure” players, and music from most other stores working on iPods. So any music you have downloaded from the iTunes music store will probably never work on Microsoft’s new player.
Rather than forcing you to re-buy your iTunes music at their store, Microsoft is planning to automatically buy it for you from their store, and pay for it, as well.
Would you be willing to switch to a new music player, if they re-bought all of your music for you? Will Microsoft be able to avoid previous traps and create a compelling product? I’m not betting on it, but if they throw as much money at it as they did for the XBox, there might be something that at least will have some presence.
July 5, 2006 at 7:32 pm · Filed under Links, News, Politics, Science
CBC Radio 3 has found a site dedicated to the discussion of the future of Canada in 2020. Jointly produced by CBC, the Toronto Star, and La Presse, the site includes essays, a discussion board, wiki, and a contest. Topics range from the federalism to immigration, health care to the environment, and aboriginal issues to Afghanistan.
July 5, 2006 at 11:35 am · Filed under Fashion, Games, Personal, Science
Sarah Allen comments on a speech made by Bruce Sterling at the Game Developers conference in 1991. “Follow your weird, ladies and gentlemen. Forget trying to pass for normal. Follow your geekdom. Embrace your nerditude.”
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