Eric Portelance

Canada Day Across America is an annual initiative that we at Connect2Canada do every year, inviting Canadians and friends of Canada in the U.S. to host Canada Day parties and submit them to the map.

Quick interview I did about Connect2Canada.

I have been commenting on the future of media distribution for some time now, and have been thinking about it a lot recently due to my skyrocketing cable bill & lack of value that I see in that service. With alternatives like Boxee and Hulu now available, not to mention individual networks which provide streaming television, there is less and less a reason to deal with exorbitant cable fees.

I have been using Netflix streaming on my Mac and Xbox 360 for some time now. While I wish their selection was better, it’s a good pilot project, so to speak, and I can only see it growing as they manage to offer more and more content. Indeed, I find myself getting less actual DVDs from Netflix these days. Recent statistics have shown that I’m not the only one. People are moving toward streaming content quickly.

Apple took a step in this area two years ago with the launch of the Apple TV. You can now rent films and television shows for 30 days, or you can buy them outright and store the content on your device. Boxee, too, can be installed on the Apple TV.

I was therefore not surprised to read today that Netflix plans to start offering streaming-only subscription plans, and expects the future of their business will rest on this new model instead of shipping physical discs around the country. I imagine many more consumers will begin to realize the revolution in video is *not* in Blu-ray or DVRs, but rather in web-based streaming. Convenience trumps all.

Fantastic video by Jonathan Jarvis which provides a simple visualization of the credit crisis.

New York Times article skimmer prototype application. Very cool!

People in Georgetown aren’t too smart, it seems. Decades ago, they refused the offer to have a Metro station connect the neighbourhood, citing the influx of possible “undesirables.” Today, they have rejected Apple’s 4th architectural proposal for a store there — and Apple is deciding to go elsewhere. An Apple store there would have had a similar feel to one of the first Apple stores, in Soho NYC.

No matter the “cachet” they might feel the neighbourhood might have, and their desire to protect whatever aesthetic that is (whatever Abercrombie & Fitch stores fit into), this is a dumb move, and the Georgetown community continues to make dumb moves.

Apple Store May Look Beyond Georgetown [via DCist]

by: carlsfinefilms

Google and some partners have released a set of measurement tools for consumers to check on their ISP’s compliance with net neutrality ideals, and the overall health of their network. M-Lab

I will be twittering the Inauguration live on the Canadian Embassy rooftop on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C. A live photo and video stream will accompany this and be cross-posted to Vimeo and Flickr. Be sure to follow the #inaug09 hashtag, and become a member of Connect2Canada. Follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates.