Ready for the Resurgence?

Resurgence : bringing again into activity and prominence

So here I am sitting at my desk, listening to my favourite type of musiic while I type. It’s been awhile since I took some time to breathe.

Let’s talk about some things that have been on my mind as of late:
Technology – I love it…tech helps move our society and modern civilization forward. Regardless of the size of the technological advancement, an advancement is an advancement nonetheless. Technology helps to connect us to things that would otherwise be out of our grasp.

I am a pioneer, a trendsetter in tech. I remember the day back in 1995 when I first connected to a little company called ‘CompuServe’. CompuServe opened the world to me, I ventured to a little unknown site called ‘Yahoo!’. My initial impressions of the internet was that it was like an encyclopedia only easier to use and much prettier. Now, just so that you don’t think that I was first introduced to the net in ’95. I was an avid ‘Bulletin Board’ user reaching as far back as 1991-1992.

‘Bulletin Boards’ were one of the first ‘internet like’ communities albeit on a much smaller scale. I connected to The Hamilton Spectator’s Bulletin Board called ‘CompuSpec’ via Terry Berry Library’s public computer which was tucked away in a corner on the second floor. Having been an extrememly shy and introverted individual during my youth, the boards let me meet people I would have never imagined meeting in the ‘real world’. I blossomed on the internet, in fact the internet helped shape, and continues to shape the person that I am today.

The internet removes boundaries and borders, obstacles to doing business. Some people question whether the future is in the ‘pipe’ or the ‘content, apps, and information’ that flow through the pipe. I say it’s both. You cannot have one without the other.

I don’t know how many of you have heard of a little company called ‘Mirabillis’, and a little program called ‘ICQ’. Their invention would forever change the face of the world (literally).

Here’s some information about ICQ

The ICQ Story
ICQ was established in July 1996 by four young avid-computer users who wanted to introduce a new way of communication over the Internet.

Before ICQ, people were connected to the internet, but not interconnected. ICQ was the missing link, a technology that made peer-to-peer communication possible. The following year ICQ took the internet by storm. Through viral marketing a chain reaction was created, resulting in one of the largest download rates for a start-up company in the history of the Internet.

ICQ has always been technologically innovative. Not only was ICQ one of the first Internet wide instant messaging services, many features that make up the core of today’s IM services were first introduced by ICQ and appeared on its desktop client.

Today, Video, VoIP, and SMS features are seamlessly integrated within the client. Skins, emoticons, avatars and other personalization tools make ICQ the natural choice for millions of young users around the world.

ICQ is a personal communication tool that allows users to meet and interact, to catch up with old friends, to meet new friends and to hear the latest stories from the world wide community. ICQ is the one-stop-source for all types of communication, the tribe campfire of the virtual community where users meet to share feelings, experiences and content.

By |2020-10-26T06:57:36-04:00September 14th, 2006|Life, Technology, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Nine One One

It was this day 5 years ago that I remember walking the halls of Mohawk College before my first class was begin to start that I remember seeing on the television screens the horror which was unfolding before my eyes.

At first I like many others thought it might be just an accident…but as I watched the second plan hit the world trade centre I was at a loss for words. It was like something out of a movie…something so unexpected, so tragic; My emotions were raging – shock, disbelief, anger, sorrow, and many others.

Although I believe the world has changed forever, I can’t agree with Mr. Bush and his statement he made tonight on his televised address to the nation of America that ‘The World is a Safer Place’. I give Mr. Bush credit for thanking all of those who lost loved ones, the appreciation for emergency workers, and those who belong to the military; What I am slightly disgusted over is the fact that he used the five year anniversary of 9/11 to spread political propaganda and his attempt to justify the Iraq war as a ‘peace keeping’ event.

I’ll let you come to your own conclusions…I’ve come to mine.

By |2013-03-16T12:31:26-04:00September 11th, 2006|Uncategorized|0 Comments

I am a self-proclaimed TECHNOPHILE

A good friend of mine introduced me to a little site called engadget. Engadget is technophile’s dream playground. Want to know about the buzz going on within the tech industry, then engadget is your site. You’ll hear about new product introductions before their introduced. It’s updated every day with tons of tech products…I am at a loss for words.

By |2013-03-16T12:21:14-04:00August 31st, 2006|Uncategorized|0 Comments

SlingBox – Bell PVR, Motorola Q

A Slingbox is a TV streaming device that enables consumers to remotely view their cable, satellite, or personal video recorder (PVR) programming from an Internet-enabled computer with a broadband Internet connection. It is produced by Sling Media, Inc of San Mateo, California.

 

By |2013-03-16T12:26:20-04:00August 30th, 2006|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Rogers Home Phone

So this evening I received a telephone call from Rogers introducing me to their new home phone service. They asked me a number of questions including ‘Is your home phone service with Bell?”, they asked me which services I currently subscribed to.

They then proceeded to tell me that they could offer me 6 services and long distance within Canada for 5 cents/minute for $41.95, I would be able to keep my same telephone number, and the quality of service wouldn’t change. I told them I wasn’t interested, they told me there would be substantial cost savings, what they didn’t know is that cost wasn’t factor in my decision to switch carriers. I asked them what differentiated their service from Bell’s, they told me price.

I told them that I was happy with Bell, and that I have all of my other services with Bell. I also told them I know that Bell’s customer service is great, they then responded with ‘We have 24hr customer service’, and I then proceeded with asking how do I know that you have good customer service (the call centre rep was very good) and she told me that she has had both Bell and Rogers and that Rogers customer service is as good if not better than Bell.

I then brought up the objection of no longer having ‘One Bill’ – this was obstacle she couldn’t ovecome. She basically told me that its just another piece of paper, with different colours on it. HAHAHAHA.

She then tried to convince me that cheaper was better…and that I could use the savings to go on a trip or buy a new car. Honestly, she said this to me. Let me tell you, if by switching to Rogers Home Phone I would save enough money to buy a new car…where’s the dotted line? This was far from the case.

I then told them that I had a feature that converted my voicemail to e-mail…they had no clue as to what I was talking about, I spent a couple of minutes explaining it to them. At first she said she had a similar feature, she put me on hold and then put me on the phone with her supervisor. Her supervisor told me initially that any service I currently had with Bell I could have with Rogers so I once again asked her if they had voicemail to e-mail capabilities as this is a feature I use everyday. After being put on hold once again, the original rep got back on the phone and told me that she apologized for taking so much of my time and they didn’t have the service. She made no further attempt to sell me the service.

In all I spent about 16 minutes on the phone with Rogers. At the end of it what did Rogers accomplish – not much. I probably just cost them a whole bunch of money!

By |2013-03-16T12:23:43-04:00August 24th, 2006|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Internet Protocol Television

IPTV – And so with Vista comes the dream of IPTV. I wrote awhile back that I was ‘suped’ up over getting a Vista Media Centre PC with the hope that it would lunch in Fall’06, but it’s old news in the industry that the Vista launch has been delayed to the first quarter of 2007.

That being said, Telcos around the world are gearing up for the launch of the next generation television service based on Microsoft’s IPTV edition platform. In fact, AT&T has already commercially launched an IPTV service using Microsoft’s platform, marketed as ‘u-verse’.

And so I wait for Vista to launch. Over the weekend I watched a biography on Bill Gates on the tube. What a smart and resilient man Mr. Gates is.

By |2020-10-26T06:59:54-04:00August 21st, 2006|Technology, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Blog Calendar

November 2025
M T W T F S S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930

Archives

Go to Top