Rogers has unveiled it’s iPhone Data Plan. Coverage is here. I can’t say I’m surprised that there is no unlimited data plan.

Upset iPhone fans have started a petition.

Another site gives Rogers the One-fingered Salute.

UPDATE…Looks like the site is down. Here is the Google cashe instead.

American networks are starting to report on the fury.

It’s why I bought the iPod touch last year, and chose the BlackBerry as my phone.

We’re falling behind the rest of the world in terms of cellphone data and internet speeds. Michael Geist has coverage of Canada’s wireless crisis here.

I’m shocked and saddened at today’s passing of NBC’s Tim Russert. I’ve been watching Meet The Press regularly for years. He was just 58. He apparently died at work in the Washington Bureau of NBC news while recording voice overs for this Sunday’s show.

A report from NBC news.

President Bush’s statement is here.

More links here.

The statement from Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBC Universal:

“We are heartbroken at the sudden passing of Tim Russert. We have lost a beloved member of our NBC Universal family and the news world has lost one of its finest. The enormity of this loss cannot be overstated. More than a journalist, Tim was a remarkable family man. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Maureen, their son, Luke, and Tim’s entire extended family.”

He is outlived by his father, “Big Russ”, who is in his 80’s. His son, Luke, had just graduated from Boston College.

I was looking forward to spending time watching his show during this history making election cycle. He loved the Buffalo Bills and the NHL’s Sabres. I remember his interview with Colin Powell, when, after a pointed question, Powell’s camera was suddenly panned off to some trees and Mr. Powell could be heard telling his assistant put the camera back on him so he could finish the interview.

I will miss the glint in his eye while discussing all things politics. This election was Tim’s Super Bowl. It won’t be the same without him.

Television news has lost another giant voice. Like Peter Jennings, Tim Russert will be sorely missed.

We now have a date for the official release of the iPhone in Canada, July 11, 2008. It will be the 3G version, not the original iPhone released on June 29th, 2007 in the U.S. That’s a good thing. At least we don’t have to put up with the recessed headphone jack that caused so much grumbling. Where I live, in Saskatchewan, Rogers (our GSM provider) doesn’t even have a 3G network yet. And coverage is spotty. Our CDMA provider, SaskTel has much better coverage, but will never get the iPhone unless Apple releases a CDMA version which is HIGHLY unlikely, given that the world uses GSM. CDMA is only used in North America.

I have a BlackBerry 8830 World Edition, and I love it. But at the minimum data plan, I’m only allowed 5MB of data per month. That’s right, 5MB. Not GB but MB. Canada has the highest data rates in the world. Let’s hope the iPhone in Canada changes that.

As a .mac user, I’m also very excited about MobileMe. It’s Apple’s foray into “cloud” computing. I use .mac for backup and online storage, so I’m looking forward to improved functionality and more storage (minimum 20GB, up from 10GB to a max of 40GB).

On a related note, my iPod touch is going back to Apple for repairs or replacement. The headphone jack is loose and the audio cuts out. I’ve tried it with several sets of headphones, but no luck. It’s most certainly the jack. I missed the six month cut-off for free shipping, so I have to pay $40 for shipping, but at least it’s still under warrantee. I’ll let you know how it goes.

A movie I worked on last year, Surveillance, had debuted at Cannes. Coverage is here, and here. It was a pleasure to be 2nd team to Bill Pullman and Michael Ironside, among others. Meeting director Jennifer Lynch was amazing. She is kind, generous and infectiously funny. We battled some big wind storms on the highways of Saskatchewan, but it was worth the effort. Thanks for the great memories, all the best with the film.

Check out the trailer…

Awhile ago I posted about Passive vs Active content consumption.

This talk by Clay Shirky on Cognitive Surplus at the Web 2.0 Expo is a much more in depth look at what I was noticing and trying to articulate in my post last year.

I watch much less television, almost never listen to the radio, and see far fewer movies because I am choosing to spend my time with interactive media the allows me to participate. Things like gaming, podcasting, blogging or producing YouTube videos.

Ted Rogers made the announcement today, Rogers has made a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada. No word on pricing or launch date.

But given how expensive data plans are in Canada, I can see the details of the promotional offer now…

$60/month to get you about 2MB worth of data. For a whopping 5MB a month, just $85! And for a limited time, unlimited data plans (if you don’t go over 100MB, but other than that it’s unlimited) are just $295/month.

I’m kidding of course. Partially. I have no idea how much the data plans are, but I’m so used to getting ripped off by Canadian cell phone providers, I expect nothing less.

Funny story from this morning. I went out at 8am to beat the crowds the pick up a new controller for the PS3 (it now has RUMBLE). While I was there, people were at the cash desk panicking about this new shipment of Wii’s that had just arrived. I overheard the conversation and I guess people were supposed to get a coupon at the front door, before proceeding to the electronics department to get their Wii. There were three left, but the guy had missed getting his coupon. I looked over at him and just said, “I’m just getting the new PS3 controller.”

“Oh yeah,” he goes. “Stayed with the PS3?”, he added with some resignation.

Yes I did, and I’m quite happy. With all the hardware failures of the Xbox 360, the supply problems of the Wii, and the HD wars settling on Blu-ray, going with Sony may have been a good decision.

When production on the sixth season of CTV’s Corner Gas begins in a few weeks, it will be the last. The show will officially end it’s run in Spring 2009. Show star and creator Brent Butt made the announcement today. Coverage here.

I was on the set (in the background) on the very first day of filming back in 2003. No one knew what sort of success the show would have, but I remember talking with Josh (the cook) and telling him I think we’re a part of something big. Turns out I was right.

Brent wants to leave with the show on top. That’s graceful and classy. Thanks for all the laughs. And to all the friends in the cast and crew that I’ve met over the years, thank you. May this final year of production be full of fun and great memories.

Cheers Dog River!

Today’s Toronto Star has a story about the upcoming CRTC hearings into Canadian Broadcast regulations.

Some key points…

- The possible elimination of “genre protection”. That means no American signal is allowed to broadcast in Canada if it competes with a Canadian channel. It’s why there is no HBO, USA Network or ESPN here.

- Discussion about Signal Substitution. The Cable/Satellite providers are required to substitute the Canadian signal overtop of the U.S. channel so we are forced to watch all those Canadian ads. Signal substitution is particularly bad for HD broadcasts because very often CTV or Global screws up the signal. The 5.1 surround sound is reduced to stereo, or the picture is reduced to a compressed 720p from 1080i. The Digital Home forums are full of stories of Canadian broadcasters butchering a pristine HD signal.

- An increase in “Carriage Fees”. In other words a tax you will have to pay on your cable bill just for the “privilege” of getting your local CTV or Global T.V. station.

My biggest problem with the CRTC and all these protectionist rules, is that they were designed to help develop a domestic Canadian television industry. But for the most part, the CRTC simply protects Ted Rogers and CTVglobemedia. They are supposed to use the money they make from showing American shows to help develop Canadian programs. However, spending on domestic production is very low.

It’s time the CRTC tell the Canadian broadcasters to start spending some big money on domestic shows, or the no-competiton rules that have protected them and lined their pockets for years, get torn up.

UPDATE…Digital Home has an in-depth look here.

The big release from LucasArts, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will be out this September 16th, Check it out. The official site is here.

Sign me up.

Video games long ago passed the movie business in total revenue. I’m starting to see why. I’ve been playing Rock Band the past week, and love my PS3. With games like Force Unleashed on the horizon, movie and television is going to have to get a lot better if they want me to keep paying attention. It’s to the point now that I’d much rather spend my time gaming (or reading for that matter) than watch a lot of the dreck that Hollywood has been putting out.

Matt Hartley at the Globe & Mail has a great column on why it takes so long for some Apple products to arrive in Canada.

Apple may be one of the most beloved consumer brands in the world, but its products cost more here than they do south of the border despite near parity in the currencies, new services often arrive long after they’re launched in the U.S., and then there’s the conspicuous absence of the company’s iPhone.

In some cases, this isn’t Apple’s fault. The fact that there are no movies in the Canadian iTunes store, or the limited selection of T.V. shows (mostly Canadian with limited U.S. product and no big network shows), has to do with rights issues with Canadian broadcasters.

I’ve posted about this subject here, here, and here.

I’m having a total boys weekend, which isn’t much different from most of my weekends. Cool stuff like watching “I Am Legend” and “No Country For Old Men” on Blu-ray. I have to say, the picture quality is much better than the theater. In fact, the whole experience is much better. It’s why I only went to one movie in the theater last year. That whole ritual is pretty much over for me. Maybe when they get digital cinemas here I might go back. Otherwise it’s all Blu-ray for me.

And one other observation for those who say there is no future for discs. It took ten minutes for me to drive to the video store and get home with two 1080p Blu-ray movies (probably a combined 50GB of data). There is no way, with the bandwidth that is currently available, I would be able to download those movies at that resolution. Not going to happen for a few years yet. Trucks still have more bandwidth then the tubes. That won’t always be the case, but discs have a few more years yet.

Legend was a great movie. I know it got mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it. I loved the look of the film and the atmosphere. It was great that it was mostly Will Smith in the beginning. Very cool. I would have combined parts of the theatrical ending with the alternate ending. I won’t get into specifics because I don’t want to ruin it for you.

No Country, I saw in the theater, but I want to see it again. This time with a friend who hasn’t seen it.

I might play Rock Band a bit later.

It’s been a month of taxes, a winter that won’t quit, the dentist a couple of times, bills and fretting about the future. So I really need to unwind.

I’m just an outside observer, watching the U.S. political season from a small city in Canada. So for what it’s worth, here are my observations on the primaries so far.

I posted about my concerns regarding Hillary months ago.

Doc Searls is right when he says Hillary will lose to John McCain in the general election. Many people say they will vote for Obama if he’s the nominee, but if it’s Clinton, they’ll go with McCain.

Some say Obama is not experienced enough. Well the Bush administration had some very “experienced” people. Rumsfeld, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Franks. All that experience and nobody thought about what happens after we get rid of Saddam?

I happen to like John McCain as a person. He was bitching about the mis-handeling of the Iraq war long before it was fashionable. But a John McCain presidency is not what the world needs right now. McCain would have been a much better manager of the war. He would have had enough troops, and he would have kept a lid on things. But that time has passed. Force is not what is needed any more. The troops have done all they can. Their presence just fans the flames. As Obama points out, there was no Al-Qaeda in Iraq before we invaded.

See Rolling Stone’s The Myth Of The Surge. And this from Matt Taibbi regarding McCain’s lust for war.

That’s the problem with John McCain, he believes in his hear of hearts that it’s man’s nature to be at war. It’s just the natural state of things, in his mind. Given the terrible things that have happened to him, I can see why he would think that. But what we need now is a candidate who believes it’s man’s natural state to be at peace, and that war is the aberration, not the other way around. This core belief is very important.

If a man like McCain was in charge during the Cuban missile crisis, the outcome might have been very different. A nuclear exchange will be more likely under a McCain administration then an Obama Administration (or Clinton for that matter). See McCain’s Bomb Iran interlude. Yes, it was a joke. Ha ha. But excuse me. Bombing people is not a laughing matter. The days of America attacking other countries without a reciprocal response are over. That’s the danger. America will not be safer with McCain in charge. That’s just my gut feeling. That’s how serious this election is.

Do we really want to wake up one morning, in 2008 or 2009, with McCain in power launching a nuclear war with Iran? Wondering if things would have turned out differently if we’d only elected Barack Obama?

The future of civilization is at stake. It’s my belief that Obama’s world view is what we need right now, not John McCain’s. Obama is more likely to win against McCain. So, Democrats, do the sensible thing and nominate Senator Barack Obama.

We can correct past mistakes, but our margin of error is now very small. Lets not make another one.

A movie I worked on, Sleepwalking, had it’s Hollywood Premiere last night. Because I can’t embed scripting on WordPress, I have to send you here to check it out.

I haven’t seen the movie yet, we have the local premiere next week. I previously posted about it here.

A mini-series I worked on, The Englishman’s Boy, makes it’s television debut Sunday on CBC. There is a great write-up in the Globe & Mail.

It’s based on the Governor General Award winning book by Guy Vanderhaeghe. From the cover…

The Englishman’s Boy brilliantly links together Hollywood in the 1920’s with one of the bloodiest, most brutal events of the nineteenth-century Canadian West - the Cypress Hills Massacre.

Many of the extras used were actual descendants of those involved.

I worked as an extra for the 1873 scenes, and as a stand-in for Michael Therriault and Nicholas Campbell for the 1920’s. I saw some amazing sunsets and spent a lot of time hanging out with horses. Here I am (left) with Josh Strait (right).

I read the book when it came out in 1996, but never imagined I’d be on set years later, working on the movie, chatting with the author.

The journey of getting this film made has taken 8 years, and is a stunning achievement. I’m proud to have been a small part of an important and moving piece of work.

My last post was a big bashing of Microsoft. So today, just so you don’t think I’m just a Microsoft hater, this news that Silverlight 2 is just around the corner. I posted about Silverlight before. Our sports network here in Canada, TSN, is using Silverlight for it’s online video and it works great on the Mac. In case you don’t know, Silverlight is Microsoft’s answer to Flash.

Microsoft recently announced they will increase openness and interoperability. That’s a good thing, if they follow through. I would use more Microsoft products, if they worked with the Mac and were innovative.

There. I feel better now. I’m not just being a Negative Nancy.

Toshiba is not the only big loser in this battle for the future of HD media. Make no mistake, this was a stunning defeat for Microsoft.

Roughly Drafted has it all here. I found it via Digital Bits.

Microsoft has been posting some big profits the past year, but they really only come from their lock on enterprise. Because people have to use Windows at work, they buy a P.C. for the home because that’s what they are familiar with.

Every other business they have entered, other than Office or the OS they are followers; advertising, web portals, Zune and Windows Mobile (iPhone already has a larger market share than all Windows Mobile devices combined, and that’s after only one year!) For most Microsoft products, I can name a better version that someone else makes.

Some examples:

Hotmail - I use Google’s Gmail. Much better.

UPDATE…From Robert Scoble’s Twitter Feed…

Scobleizer: I’m switching all my email over to Gmail. Gmail is so much faster than Hotmail it isn’t funny. about 3 hours ago from im

Robert’s full post on the big email switch is here.

Windows Mobile - I use BlackBerry because I don’t want my phone to crash. The iPhone is also a good choice.

XBox 360 - I bought a PS3, because of Blu-ray, the advanced processing power, the built-in features and long term, the games selection will get better.

Windows Vista - I use Leopard on the Mac. I don’t have to install drivers, edit the registry or scan for viruses and spyware (and use up 30% of my CPU cycles in the process).

Zune - Seriously, iPods are better in every way. The new Zunes are an improvement over the first gen, but come on, they are what the iPod was three years ago.

Windows Live - I use Google Reader, Docs, Calendar, iGoogle, Maps. All superior products.

Of course, that’s just my opinion. It’s what works best for me. Use whatever product works for you. I’m not saying that the hundreds of millions of people that use Microsoft products are wrong, or made a bad choice. I just prefer other solutions.

And a final thought on the XBox 360. As the RoughlyDrafted article points out, XBox is considered a success, but danger lies ahead.

360 shipments also fell 33% year over year as buyers shifted their attention to the newer Nintendo Wii and PS3. The Wii outsold the 360 in 2007 and the PS3 came within a stones throw of matching its sales [update: the PS3 has also eclipsed 360 unit sales as it enters its second year]. Going forward, there is no reason for thinking 360 sales will dramatically turn around, as sales growth fell this year despite the arrival of major hit new games.

I would add that the spectacular failure rate of the units and the fact that they use a DVD instead of Blu-ray drive means games are severely restricted due to the low storage capacity compared with an HD disc. This will become more pronounced in 2008 as games become larger and larger in size.

I have not purchased a Microsoft product since fall of 2002 when I bought a copy of Windows XP. I don’t see that changing in the near future.

It’s the end of the HD format war. On Monday, Toshiba is expected to announce that they are dropping their support of HD DVD. Reuters has the story here.

This is a very good development. Nobody benefits from a format war. I had decided that Blu-ray was the way to go with the purchase of my PS3 last August. Since then I have purchased a few Blu-ray titles including Casino Royale, Blood Diamond and The Harry Potter Collection, among others.

I’ve always thought Blu-ray was the better format given the larger capacity. Some people say nobody cares about buying movies in HD, but I beg to differ. Once you’ve seen a full 1080p movie on a great television, you can’t go back to regular DVD. You even start noticing how badly compressed your 720p HD signal is from your satellite or cable provider. Cable HD is poor compared with a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

I can’t wait to finally watch Transformers and The Bourne Ultimatum on Blu-ray!

Winter in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada has a quiet, peaceful beauty.

It can also be unrelenting, harsh and downright depressing. Winter before Christmas, with the snow and warm fires is charming. Winter in mid-February, however really does your head in. It’s dark, windy and cloudy most of the time and very, very cold. We usually get a cold snap in January and we did, but this year it’s lasted until now. Many other places are experiencing a harsh winter. Toronto, the East Coast, even further south into the U.S., so we’re not alone. We don’t even have as much snow as we sometimes get. But it has been cold. For me it’s not so much that December and January are cold, it’s that from October-March (and sometimes even April and May) it is cold and miserable. So that leaves the end of May and June as our best months. July is often too hot and dry to be enjoyable. August and September can be nice, but that can’t be counted on.

But then again, where can you count on the weather these days? California burns and shakes, Vancouver rains a lot and it’s not that warm in the winter (although much warmer than here), Toronto is humid and prone to winter “lake-effect” snowstorms, the southern U.S. has too many tornadoes now, the mid-west is dry, so maybe northern California is my perfect spot. Perhaps, Palo Alto or San Mateo. The big problem with that plan of course is the lack of several hundred thousand in cash lying around to buy a small piece of that California paradise. I watched the Pebble Beach golf tournament over the weekend in HD and it looked so nice I tried climbing into my plasma T.V. Maybe I should just sell everything and move to Hawaii and live the surfer life. Hmm.

I’m sure the flu-like symptoms I’ve had for five days; the hot flashes, sniffles and slight cough are adding to my misery. But there’s no question Canada in the winter is a very tough place to live. Not to mention the complete LACK OF LIGHT. The days have been getting longer since the winter solstice but eight hours of light a day is not enough. Summer is great for the opposite reason, the sun gets up a 4am and sets at 9pm. I love that. This year I bought a LED light. This helps simulate some of that lost sunshine.

Last June, The Canadian Cancer Society announced a new Vitamin D recommendation. Among the studies findings…

“Where a person lives is one important factor in how much Vitamin D they can produce from the sun. Because of our country’s northern latitude, the sun’s rays are weaker in the fall and winter and Canadians don’t produce enough Vitamin D from sunlight during this time.”

Research findings announced today add to the mounting evidence in this area. A study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that taking Vitamin D supplements and calcium substantially reduces all-cancer risk in post menopausal women. Specifically, the researchers found that the higher the levels of Vitamin D in the blood, the lower the relative risk of developing cancer.

So the point I’m making is I’ve had it with winters in Canada. I don’t know how many more I can do. They are too long, and too cold. And I’m not getting any younger. I know the weather will get better soon, but I can’t live half the year hanging on by a thread. I suppose that’s why most people here book Mexican vacations in January and February. I’d rather live at the beach year-round.

Rumors about Microsoft buying Yahoo have been around for years and now they’ve made a bid. My thoughts immediately went to my beloved Flickr. What would happen to it? Would Microsoft ruin it like they so often do? Dr_lopbot imagines it might look like this…