Todd Zeigler has posted his opinions on what newspapers need to do to freshen up their websites. A bit of discussion and cross-posting ensued, including one by Adrian Holovaty and a follow-up by Todd.
Archive for the ‘News’ Category
How to change newspaper websites
Thursday, September 7th, 2006Canada in 2020
Wednesday, July 5th, 2006CBC 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.
What?
Tuesday, June 13th, 2006
Don’t you just love misleading pictures?
It’s all about the hearing these days. I remember those crazy sound-tests when I was a little kid. They put these enormous headphones on you, and told you to raise your hand whenever you heard something. Fun at first- but simply annoying after listening to high-pitched frequencies for a full ten minutes. I remember going back to class with the ringing still in my ears.
Little did I know that I was hearing frequencies most adults probably could not of. According to research, children and young teenagers can hear higher frequencies then adults. Well, a shopkeeper in Wiltshire, England has decided to utilize this information. The man developed a mosquito-type noise that plays outside of his shop to keep away troublemakers. Apparently, the noise is unbearably annoying for anyone under the age of 25. You can even try listening to the soundwave yourself.
(Something to note about the BBC article above: The caption on the picture of the mosquito reads, “A Mosquito, yesterday”. Whatever happened to pictures actually relating to the articles?)
Anyways, someone who noticed this article decided to create a sample of different frequencies to test their own hearing. Test it on their website for yourself. See how high up you can get before you can’t hear anything at all! The highest I can hear is 17,000 Hz- and I challenge you to beat it.
(Note: Try this around animals for extra fun 
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No more paper-Dose
Wednesday, May 17th, 2006
Torontoist picks up a story that Dose will no longer be published as a free daily magazine. However, CanWest will be maintaining their website, folding it into their canada.com network.
I think Dose published some genuinely interesting features during their run, providing a more national focus than most. This was especially true compared with the other free dailies, which were largely press-release driven and Toronto-centric. Ultimately, though, their desire to reach profitability led to sponsored front-pages and pushes to include a younger segment, putting me off completely.
Spacing Magazine Launch Party
Monday, May 1st, 2006Spacing magazine, “Understanding Toronto’s Urban Landscape”, is launching the sixth issue of their magazine on Tuesday, May 2nd at the Gladstone Hotel at Queen and Dufferin (Just a few blocks from where I work!). They are dedicating the issue (and the launch party) to public transportation, with themed music, discussion, and prizes to be won (the big prize is all ofthose popular TTC buttons). Even Torontoist has chimed in to remind everyone.
End of a CIRA-Era
Wednesday, April 19th, 2006The CIRA, known best for their 21 cents per-CD levy and their inability to sue file sharers, may be falling apart. Does this mean the end of the CD levy? Or the calm before the war on file sharing starts in Canada? Perhaps we should ask Sam Bulte.
Toronto of the Future
Monday, April 17th, 2006The Toronto Star had a feature in their Sunday edition involving various essays on the potential future for the city. An introduction by Mayor David Miller is followed by ideas about reaching out to more ethnic groups, how to tackle the hot-button gun issue, and legalizing all drugs.
The main spread features a collection of articles that try to solve the commuting problem that has been steadily getting worse in the GTA. 
Jennifer Wells writes about the idea of the Velo-City, a series of highways for biking (and perhaps roller-blading as well). Gabe Gonda references Andrew Alfred-Duggan’s Toronto Rapid Transit Guide of the TTC. This popular imagining of a subway map set in the future includes express lines in the downtown core, an Eglinton line that stretched from the airport to Guildwood, extending the Bloor line to Square One and the zoo, and a few new lines as well. This map was notably featured in uTOpia.
To top it all off, Rita Daly writes about the idea of a inter-connected mini cities built around train hubs, such as Oshawa, Peterborough and Barrie. The idea of building places of work directly into these destinations reduces the need for last-mile bus networks and allows urban transit providers to focus on dedicated regular service between major hubs, reducing the need for workers to commute from suburb to suburb.
2006 Bloggies
Tuesday, March 14th, 2006CBC Radio 3 reports on the winners of the 6th annual weblog awards (the Bloggies).
The awards for best new weblog and weblog of the year went to PostSecret, a site where people mail in anonymous home-made post cards. They are then posted up on the blog for all to see. There are also awards for various general interests (food, technology, entertainment, politics) and for many regions (Africa and Middle East, Australia and New Zealand, Britain and Ireland, Canada, Continental Europe). The rest of the winners along with the nominees are also listed on the official site.
The End of the Canadian Tire Guy
Friday, March 10th, 2006The Globe and Mail reports on the end of the Canadian Tire guy. This is partly due to his declining popularity (as if he wasn’t in decline already). Discovered on the The Torontonist.