Wayne D's Blog

Some days the heavens open up and a bolt of enlightenment strikes you right between the ears. I work in a mixed Linux and Windows environment and she blurted out "Linux is annoying" or something similar. When I asked her to expand she explained that it annoyed her because it was different than what she was used to and that is what annoyed her. I can understand that, nothing is worse than thinking you know how to do something on a computer and then realizing that you are incorrect. No one wants to feel stupid and even at the best of times computers and software can annoy me. For better or for worse Windows has trained people to do things in a certain way and doing them in a different way is going to make them annoyed. Opening a terminal window and typing a command is completely alien to people who have grown up on Windows based operating systems. In a Windows based operating system actions are always initiated with the mouse, the keyboard is used for text entry. There really isn't any point in trying to convince people to use a command line interface, the ship has sailed and it's necessary to live with the new reality. Those who are working on Linux need to understand this, it doesn't matter if they think their method is better, the more they can make their operating system behave like Windows from the user perspective the more likely they are to be able to convince Windows users to at least give it a try.

If the current shift to web based applications, smart phones and netbooks continues continues the choice of operating system may become a moot point. The promise of Java to "write once/run anywhere" may come to pass as we access more and more services through a web browser. Perhaps the reason I find Linux not to be too annoying is because I already do so much with web based tools. I've written blog posts through the browser on my Blackberry, I use browser based tools to administer my MySql databases, browser based database applications. I long ago gave up running a mail program instead using browser based email clients first from Yahoo and now from Gmail.

I read an article today about running C and Python code on the web in a Flash virtual machine. The open question is whether this is any more promising because of the Adobe Flash vs. Microsoft Silverlight feud that is underway than the Sun Java vs. Microsoft Java wars that hobbled Java's adoption 10 years ago. Adobe isn't targeting Alchemy for new projects but instead suggesting it as a way to run legacy code in a secure Flash environment. I burned off about 15 minutes playing Doom in Flash compiled from the original C source.

That's for the future, for now Linux will continue to be annoying because it's really more of a concept than a product. The product is the distributions and they are generally inconsistent and incompatible with each other. Unless you are going to compile from source with the minefield of library issues that may entail there is no guarantee that any Linux package will run on your system if it isn't included in your distributions repository. Far too complicated for your average computer user, isn't it? For now your best chances are probably with Ubuntu, if you are ready to take the plunge good luck.

May 2010 updated with the rates that came into effect starting April 1st 2010 from http://www.ontarioelectronicstewardship.ca/stewards/fees.html

Jan. 27th 2010, See my update which discusses the likely increase in these fees at Ontario Computer Recycling Tax Rates Likely to Rise

When is a tax not a tax? When it's a government mandated and collected user fee. As of April 1st all Ontario residents will be forced to pay a tax on evey new computer. monitor, TV, mouse sold in Ontario. These new fees kick in April 1st and the government is planning on passing on the money collected to the industry to recycle electronics. This means there is no government oversight of the fees they are collecting from us. The best of both worlds, plausible denialbility for both sides. What are the rates?

Desktop Computers $13.44 $7.80 unit
Portable Computers $2.14 $2.75 unit
Computer Peripherals ( Mice, Keyboards. Single Hard drives,
Optical Drives) $0.32 $0.40 unit
Monitors $12.03/ unit Televisions $10.07/ unit
Displays < 29" $12.25 unit, Displays > 29" $26.25 unit
Printers $5.05 $5.40 unit

These rates are only good for one year, so expect them to rise next year.

Why does a 52" LCD TV cost less to dispose of than a 17" LCD monitor? No idea. Why $10 more for a $500 desktop than a $2000 laptop. Couldnt be because a desktop is easier to disassemble and reuse.

The best part is that this is only the beginning, next we get to pay a new disposal tax on the following items.

# Computer peripherals will include modems
# Printing devices will include copiers, scanners, typewriters.
# Telephones (physical and accessories)
# Cellular phones
# PDA’s and pagers
# Audio and video players
# Cameras
# Equalizers, (pre)amplifiers
# Radios
# Receivers
# Speakers
# Tuner
# Turntable

The best part is that these taxes are completely hidden so you can continue to live in blissful ignorance. I feel sorry for Ontario retailer because it appear to me that items bought out of province are exempt. This is a great time to make Ontario retailers less competitive, the middle of a recession. Another unaccountable bureaucracy to pick our pockets, sigh.

The paltry consumer information on the website glosses over the level of the fees that are being applied. It's always best to keep the people who are paying in the dark.

Unless you have a PVR with a built in guide channel accurate TV listings are more important than ever. TV networks now have a penchant for not maintaining a predictable schedule. They schedule a number of new episodes of a particular program, then perhaps stop showing new episodes for a month or two or show two or three episodes then skip a week or two before showing another new episode. Way back in December 2006 I wrote a blog post about how Yahoo had completely screwed up their TV listings. At the time we switched to the Canoe.ca tv listings because they provided a simple, fast loading TV listing service. Recently Canoe.ca decided to reformat their listing and dispense with the pop up for show details and Ajaxify them with and expanding tab to show details. The redesign has made the ads much more obtrusive in the details pane and they have also dropped the information on when the show is repeating which was very helpful in allowing you to tape a show you might have missed. The listing are still very good, clearly showing whether a show is a repeat or not.

I decided to quickly check Yahoo's listing and was surprised to find that they no longer sucked. They loaded quickly and about the only thing that was missing was a clear indication on whether a show was new or not. The shows in prime time are marked as to whether they are a repeat or not. The ads aren't even visible on the EEEPC screen as they are to the right of the listing column. I'd use Yahoo's TV listings except for one crucial factor. They have the channel line up wrong, instead of TLC one of the few channels I actually watch they list shows from a channel called VIVA. You think that as Rogers Cable partners they could at least get the Rogers channel lineup correct. Unfortunately there is no link on the page to report the problem, just links to precanned FAQ answers. So close, yet so far. Sorry Yahoo TV.

Illustrative screenshots of Canoe.ca TV listings




Screenshots of Yahoo TV listings

I did something today I thought I'd never do, I stopped watching the live streaming of TWIT, This Week in Tech a podcast hosted by Leo Laporte. Ever since Leo started live streaming TWIT Sunday afternoon has been TWIT day. I do my best to be home by 6 so I can watch as the podcast is recorded. Over the past while there has been tension on the podcast because some people think they talk to much about the social media service Twitter. Let me make it clear that I like Twitter, I use Twitter, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/wdawe but Twitter is old news. It was clear that Twitter was becoming old news when Britney Spears signed up and began using it. John Dvorak did his best today to steer the talk away from Twitter to no avail. Finally after almost an hour I gave up and closed the stream. I'll go back to what I did before Leo started live streaming TWIT, download the podcast. That way I can skip over the boring Twitter talk. Venting complete.

I keep hearing about people who don't have a home phone and after looking at the cost of my home phone service I'm wondering if I should ditch my phone wired too. I pay $25.87 a month for a bare phone service with no features. I get perhaps four calls a month from people I want to talk to, the rest are hang ups when we let them roll over to the answering machine. I already have a minimalist cell phone plan paying $11.50 a month. We only have a cell phone in case off car trouble. Both my wife and I drive cars older than five years and having something in case of unexpected breakdown is pretty much required.

I'd drop the home phone entirely except for the times when the kids are home by themselves so what are the options? Rogers home phone is out of the question, they really don't have anything reasonably priced. Their baseline price is $36.31 a month before taxes because they don't offer a phone without call display. They also don't include their $5.95 system access fee in their published price of $29.95 a month. Even with their $10 off a month promotion for 12 months their before tax price is above what I currently pay. Strangely they also have a $1 fee for the 5 cents a minute long distance plan that I currently get for free. Call display is an absolute necessity if you don't have a physical answering machine because otherwise you can't avoid the telemarketers.

I decided to search through some of the options for internet based phone services. Skype costs $2.95 a month but because Skype hasn't worked out a deal with a Canadian telco they can't offer Canadian numbers for incoming calls. I suppose I could give people my cell number for incoming calls and only use Skype for outgoing calls but that seems unnecessarily complicated. It also means if someone calls and wants to chat I'd have to get them off the phone and call them back so I didn't use up my scarce wireless minutes. There are a couple of different services that offer an incoming Canadian number which adds from $5 to $15 a month to the price and adds the complexity of having to deal with two companies. The added issue of Skype's proprietary protocol makes using a standard VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) to ATA (Analogue Terminal Adapter) box that allows you to use your current telephones with your internet based phone service problematic. There are workarounds but they require using two boxes based on my limited research. I don't think the extra complexity is worth the $2 a month it saves. If you want to use internet based phone services a VOIP ATA is almost a necessity. Without this handy little box you are dependent on your computer if you want to make or answer calls.

There is a free VOIP service offered under a number of different names including clearpointtel.ca available that has a Windows only software phone program. They offer but discourage the use of hardware VOIP phones because they are an ad supported service. It looks like the cost for a VOIP ATA is about $150. I am looking to replace my home phone service and a software only solution isn't really what I want. There are a large number of VOIP phone providers that offer service at different price points with different packages. I looked at another providers website and one of the prominently featured testimonials mentioned how the provider had given a different area code than the user had requested, not a good sign. I found the reviews at whichvoip.com to be helpful. ITP provides a 500 outgoing minutes a month plan for $9.99 which includes an ATA adapter for your phone. With their free first month of service and free 12th month of service you can get phone service for $99 a year including many of the additional services that other providers charge for.

The risk you take going with a low cost VOIP provider is that they company will fail and you will be without phone service. The other thing you need to keep in mind is that 911 services vary between VOIP providers, 911 calls work but some VOIP providers provide E911 services which send your address details to emergency services. With E911 you are responsible for updating your address details with the provider. Without E911 emergency services can't locate you if you can't tell them the address so it's important to read the companies 911 disclaimer carefully.

The other question is whether to take my current phone (port) number or not. I'm leaning towards not porting but instead getting a new phone number, that way the two dozen people who do call me get it while the thousands of telemarketers who currently have my current number don't get to call me.