Woman Sues Google For Getting Run Over By Car While Following Google Maps…. WTF?

Another day, another really dumb lawsuit. The Toronto Star is reporting a woman is suing Google for…. I’ll let you read the details:

Lauren Rosenberg sought directions between two addresses in Utah about 3 kilometres apart. The top result suggested that Rosenberg follow a busy rural highway for several hundred metres. The highway does not have sidewalks. One stretch is blocked by a noise barrier that pushes pedestrians closer to the roadside.

After walking on to the highway, Rosenberg was struck by a car. The driver, Patrick Harwood, is also named in the suit.

Uh, hello? The directions take you onto a busy highway? Common sense says that you might want to avoid that. But no, why follow common sense. And when the predictable happens don’t take any responsibility for your actions. Sue someone.

Geez! If this isn’t worthy of a Darwin award, I don’t know what is.

The absurd part is that Google is now obligated to expend resources to answer this groundless suit. Even in winning, they’ll lose. That’s something that needs to really change.

iPad Launches In The Rest Of Word…. Creates All Sorts Of iHype….. And Some iDisappointment [UPDATED x2]

So, the rest of the world gets to buy the iPad from Apple as of yesterday. True to form for Apple launches, people lined up and all sorts of interesting things happened in cities like my hometown London, Paris, Sidney, and my adopted hometown of Toronto. Speaking of Canada, I got an e-mail from my “best friends at Rogers” who had this to say about the launch:

This morning we posted to RedBoard some information regarding today’s activations of the iPad.

We also provided some detail around how we’ve worked hard to become one of the only carriers in the world certified by Apple to offer an innovative, on-device purchase flow.

Noted. They should also note that Bell Canada has pricing on their website for 3G data for the iPad which by some really strange co-incidence is the same pricing as Rogers. The only thing that Bell Canada has going for it is that unlike Rogers they still don’t have that black cloud from an “oops” moment hanging over them which was mentioned by at least one news agency. But I digress. Canada’s third teclo Telus doesn’t have any pricing for the iPad, but I’m guessing that pricing is coming as I’m sure they don’t want to be left out of the iHype. But I’m not holding my breath for anything groundbreaking from them. I guess that pricing that other countries get such as the USA who gets unlimited data plans for the iPad for less than Canadians pay for 5GB of data isn’t coming to Canada anytime soon.

Too bad.

So, do you have an iPad? What do you think of it? Post a comment and share your experience.

UPDATE: I’m shocked. Telus launched an iPad 3G Data plan over the weekend and it isn’t in lockstep with Bell and Rogers. It’s $20 for 500MB of data. Anything over 500MB a month will be billed at the rate of 5¢/MB, up to a maximum of $30 of overage per month. The maximum allowed data usage per month will be 5GB. I did some quick math and if you use anywhere from 500MB to 800 MB of data, Telus is the best deal out there. Props to them for actually daring to be different.

UPDATE #2: Apple announced today that it sold 2 million iPads in less than 60 days. Can you say “Cha Ching?”

VMWare Releases Fusion 3.1…. Parallels May Want To Watch Out [UPDATED]

If you’re a Mac user and you use VMWare Fusion, you might want to go to the “Check For Updates” menu. VMWare has kicked out version 3.1 to the world and the update is a major one according to the company:

With more than 20 new features, key highlights of VMware Fusion 3.1 include:

Faster: With faster application launching, more seamless scrolling, quicker resume from suspend, and better overall disk performance, VMware Fusion 3.1 delivers 35% better end-to-end performance compared to its predecessor, VMware Fusion 3.0.

Better 3D Graphics Performance: Greatly improved Windows Aero performance and OpenGL 2.1 support for Windows Vista and Windows 7 delivers up to 5X better 3D graphics performance. VMware Fusion 3.1 is also supported and recommended by Autodesk for AutoCAD 2011.

Switch to Mac with Ease: The fastest and least expensive way to bring a customer’s entire PC to a Mac, VMware Fusion 3.1 includes all of the software tools needed to migrate over a standard Ethernet cable, FireWire cable or even wireless network — saving customers from purchasing special cables that will only be used once.

USB EasyConnect: Makes it easier than ever to assign a USB device to a virtual machine or a Mac and remembers preferred choice.

Unity: Exclusive support for Mac OS X Snow Leopard’s Dock Expose makes it even more seamless to use Windows apps like Mac apps.

Support for Larger Virtual Machines: With added support for 8-way SMP and an increased virtual hard disk size from 950 GB to 2TB, advanced users get more power and punch out of the Mac Pro and Xserve from Apple.

This sounds like VMWare is going to make a serious attempt to go after Parallels Desktop who has been the king of the virtual machine market on the Mac since they came out with version 5. I’ll see if I can get some time to test this latest version this weekend and see how it stacks up to Parallels Desktop. But if you’ve tested it, drop me a comment and let me know what you think of it.

UPDATE: I finally tried Fusion 3.1. A bunch of things jump out at me. First, it’s FAST. My Windows experience score in my Vista virtual machine went up to 4.5 from 4.2 and my seat of the pants test drive of it suggests to me that it was faster than Parallels Desktop 5. Plus for the first time my MobiKEY works with VMWare Fusion. Clearly they’ve made an effort to make their USB support a lot better.

Parallels, you were ahead but now your chief rival has caught up. What are you going to do to get back out in front?

Rogers On Demand Online…. They Might Have A Winner Here

Tonight my wife and I attended a launch party for Rogers On Demand Online which has been in beta since last November. Here’s something from their press release on what this service is:

After a successful Beta phase, Rogers On Demand Online is officially Canada’s one-stop Web destination for on-demand access to a vast video library that features prime time, daytime and specialty TV, movies, sports and music videos. Available to any Rogers Digital Cable, Rogers Wireless, Rogers Home Phone and Rogers Hi Speed Internet customers, Rogers On Demand Online now offers more programming content including live sporting events, concerts and new web-exclusive programming. Rogers Digital Cable customers can also join to watch many of the same subscription-based specialty channels online as they have through their television account.

At the launch party we got some time with Jeremy Butteriss who is the Senior Director, Broadband Entertainment for Rogers and we were able to quiz him about this service and got some insightful answers:

• Rogers is committed to making this work in a cross platform manner unlike Bell’s rather miserable attempt at doing something similar that was Windows only, DRM laden, and dead just over a year later, or the iTunes Store for that matter (since you can only play videos within iTunes or on an iDevice and Rogers On Demand Online only needs a browser such as Firefox, Chrome, or IE with Flash). Rogers will have announcements about other platforms such as smartphones as time goes on according to Mr. Butteriss.
• The videos are displayed using Adobe Flash, but Mr. Butteriss admitted that they’ve looking at other formats including H.264. This would be handy for making Apple God CEO Steve Jobs happy as their videos would be playable on those shiny iDevices.
• Content is one of the key things that will make or break this service. Mr. Butteriss notes that they are being aggressive about adding content and users of the service will see that. He also hinted that Rogers is looking at bringing live events and special to the service. Though he didn’t comment further on that.
• One of the things that Mr. Butteriss points out is that the service is free. Anyone can sign up and you don’t need to be a Rogers customer. But as I stated above, Rogers customers will have access to the same channels that they get on their TV. By the way if you’re a Fido customer, you’ll get the same treatment as Rogers customers.

To test this service out, I signed up for the service at home on my Teksavvy DSL Internet connection. The setup process was easy and I was asked for my Rogers account number to verify that I was a Rogers customer. Rogers scores points for checking the strength of the password that you enter. Too many times this is something that is forgotten and It’s good to see Rogers take security seriously. The service also uses e-mail verification as well. Another bonus point.

Once I signed up, I had no problems browsing for videos and watching them over my 5 Mbps DSL connection. As for the quality, it’s not HD but it is pretty good and I doubt that anyone will complain. As for the content, Rogers has a fair amount of content online and I’m sure I can find something worth watching online. In my case, 42 channels showed up which were largely made up of the channels that I have on my TV. But a few extra ones were tossed in that are unique to the service such as “Man Channel” which shows things like action movies and TV shows that are “male focused.” One thing that I did note is that I tried to play Valkyrie for example and it said I needed a SuperChannel subscription. So if you’re a Rogers customer, your mileage with this service will vary based on what you subscribe to.

My verdict? I think as Rogers adds more content and opens up the types of devices that support the service, Rogers will have a winner. The only weakness in the service is their use of Flash which might limit the growth of the service because it won’t reach iPhones and iPads or anything else that doesn’t have Flash. But that is a minor point (for now).

It will be interesting to see in a years time how popular this service is. I’m guessing it’s going to gain traction in the marketplace and additional eyeballs for Rogers.

Bye Bye Bell – Part 7

My wife finally got around to calling Bell Canada to raise the issues that I spoke about in my last entry. First of all she got an Indian call center (my wife actually got the rep to admit it after pushing him on the issue). So much for not sending Bell customers to call centers in India liked they claimed they were going to stop doing. I guess their promise of better customer service is just talk.

But I digress.

Once my wife got the call center human on the phone, she was informed that they would not waive the “home phone deactivation charge” and the human was adamant on that part. The reason was that we didn’t give them sufficient notice despite the fact that we were never informed of that little fact. So she gave up and simply requested a cheque which she was told that we’d get in 4 weeks.

What ticked my wife off about this interaction was the fact that Bell wants us to come back to them and they’ve likely spent more than $15.38 in trying to woo us back with postcards and letters. So it likely be cheaper to just credit us back the $15.38 “home phone deactivation charge” as a goodwill gesture. But what they’ve done instead by not crediting the “home phone deactivation charge” to our account is guarantee that we’ll never be a Bell Canada customer ever again. Interesting enough, my wife did communicate this to the call center human who responded with indifference.

I’ll let you know when we get the cheque and if it is within the time frame that they gave my wife.

Bell Canada Appeals CRTC Usage Based Ruling…. WTF?

I don’t get it.

Bell Canada got exactly what it wanted when it comes to usage based billing, except for the fact that it will have to move all of their customers to the same scheme. That last point alone was enough for Bell Canada to appeal the decision:

In a letter to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission dated May 25, the company said the requirement is unfair, because it shows favouritism to cable internet providers, who are under no similar obligations. Bell also said the CRTC has shown favouritism to cable companies on several occasions by more quickly processing their requests on issues such as wholesale rate changes.

“This … has the effect of skewing the market for these services by introducing uncertainty and delay into the approval process for the [Bell] services, while continuing to, in effect, rubber stamp rate and service proposals presented by the cable companies,” the letter said.

Bell said it intends to apply to the CRTC for a “review-and-vary,” or a request that the regulator re-examine and change its ruling, in the coming days.

But the CBC article points out the following:

The majority of Bell’s retail internet customers are already on usage-based plans, which the company implemented several years ago. Some customers, who are on “grandfathered” unlimited download plans, would need to be moved onto usage-based services.

The only thing that I can think of is that they’re afraid that their customers and maybe some wholesale DSL customers will go running to cable based Internet resold by companies like Teksavvy and 3Web if they take those grandfathered users and punt them to a usage based billing plan. If this is the case, then I guess that Bell Canada is living proof of the phrase “be careful what you wish for because you just might get it.”

Rogers Introduces Handset Protection Program… But Will It Blend?

I know that you’re wondering about the title. Stay with me and it will all become clear. Rogers has a new means to entice you to use them for wireless phone service. They now offer a Handset Protection Program that has the following features according to the Rogers website:

If your device is within the manufacturer’s warranty period, we will send it for repair or offer you an Advance Exchange depending on your device type.

Alternatively if your device is out of the warranty period by time or broken, we will assess the problem, provide you with a quote and upon your approval have it repaired. We’ll aim to have it ready for pick-up in 10 business days or less! You may also choose to take advantage of a 0$ replacement device*.

If your device was lost or stolen, you can benefit from a 0$ replacement device*.

Visit a participating Rogers store to select and order your replacement device. We’ll aim to have it ready for pick-up in 5 business days or less!

Now you’ll notice the “*”s in the quote I pasted above. They’re they’re because there’s a catch to this. What is it?

* With a new or existing term commitment of at least 12 months at time of replacement.

Ah yes. You have to have a 1, 2, or 3 year term with Rogers for them to offer you this program. After all, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Okay. So I’ve told you about the Handset Protection Program, what’s the deal with me mentioning blending? Well, my “best friends at Rogers” have pointed me to a video where Tom Dickson of the famous “Will it Blend” videos promotes this new enticement from Rogers. Take a look below:

I have to admit, that’s a funny video with Miranda MacDonald (Social Media Specialist from Rogers). It’s pretty hip which shows that Rogers is trying to reach those between 18 – 35.

Yahoo CEO Tells Blogger To F*ck Off

Carol Bartz who is the CEO of Yahoo has the rep of being blunt and having some “colorful” language. But This has to take the cake. Apparently, Michael Arrington during a one on one at TechCrunch Disrupt pushed all the wrong buttons and Ms. Bartz told him to “f*ck off.” Video evidence below:

Of course the video is only of the dropping of the F-bomb by Bartz. To understand why she decided to drop the F-bomb, you have to watch the entire exchange which you can get right here.

Perhaps they both need to wash their mouths out with soap?

Google Chrome For Mac Declared “Stable” By Google [UPDATED]

If you’re a Mac user who’s wanted to try Google Chrome for Mac and didn’t want to play with one of the beta versions, today is your lucky day. Google has decided that Chrome is now “stable” according to this blog posting:

Today, I’m happy to announce that Google Chrome for Mac is being promoted out of beta to our stable channel. We believe that it provides not only the stability, performance and polish that every Mac user expects, but also a seamless native Mac application experience that Mac users will feel instantly at home with.

I’ll be downloading my copy shortly as I’ve been holding off using it until this sort of announcement appeared. Post your experiences with it to the comments section. I in turn will be posting an update after I have a chance to run it through its paces.

UPDATE: Tried it. Liked it. Rendering is FAST. You should try it and you might switch.

Why Does Apple Hate Porn?

Now let me be clear. I’m not a porn advocate. Yes I’ve watched porn, but I don’t say that everybody has to. Apparently Steve Jobs doesn’t agree as he seems to be at war with porn. Let me recap what’s happened to this point:

• This past February, Apple removed thousands of apps that were considered to be “overtly sexual.” These apps included ones that had jiggly boobs and other things that could be considered juvenile rather than sexual. But that’s a matter of perspective. Phil Schiller of Apple offered this reason to the New York Times: “It came to the point where we were getting customer complaints from women who found the content getting too degrading and objectionable, as well as parents who were upset with what their kids were able to see,”
• This past April, Steve Jobs answered a question from Ryan Block in a very strange way. The question was “Are there any plans to allow unsigned applications on the iPhone?” His answer? “You know, there’s a porn store for Android. You can download nothing but porn. You can download porn, your kids can download porn. That’s a place we don’t want to go – so we’re not going to go there.” Sorry, I might have missed a memo, but how does unsigned apps equal porn? I don’t get it.
• Finally there was a much publicized e-mail exchange between Steve Jobs and Apple customer Matthew Browing. The aforementioned Mr. Browning said: “It appears that more and more Apple is determining for it’s consumers what content they should be able to receive… I’m all for keeping porn out of kids hands. Heck – I’m all for ensuring that I don’t have to see it unless I want to. But… that’s what parental controls are for. Put these types of apps into categories and allow them to be blocked by their parents should they want to.” What did Mr. Jobs reply? “…we do believe we have a moral responsibility to keep porn off the iPhone. Folks who want porn can buy an Android phone.” Okay then.

Here’s the bottom line. When Apple first came out with the Macintosh, they launched it with the now famous 1984 advert which claimed that “1984 won’t be like 1984.” Here’s a news flash. Apple has strayed away from that. I’m not saying by any means that Apple should have a free for all when it comes for porn, but it’s all about two things in my mind. One it’s about freedom of choice. If I want to watch boobies on my iDevice, that’s my choice to do so and not Steve Jobs choice. Second as Matthew Browning pointed out, parental controls can deal with stuff that parents don’t want their kids to see. Is it perfect? No. But in an ideal world parents would catch whatever parental controls miss. After all, that’s what parents are there for.

So to answer my original question, I don’t have a clue why Apple hates porn. But I do know this. Apple better get a clue here. Otherwise all the Apple fanbois in the world won’t be able to stop Apple from being assigned the perception that Apple is a controlling, dictatorial, judgmental company.

Oh wait. They already have that perception.

Oh by the way Steve, I hate to point it out to you but sex blogger Violet Blue has already pointed out that you in fact get porno onto your shiny iDevices [Slightly NSFW] and there is NOTHING you can do about it.