bringing manufacturing back …

On October 12, 2012October 12, 2012 By Rick McIn Apple, education, government, product endorsements, robotsLeave a comment

Apple once manufactured in the USA.

Almost everything, in 2012, is now made overseas.

Steve Jobs famously told Obama, “Those jobs aren’t coming back.”

Even at that time, I thought Steve was wrong. Sooner or later the difference in wages will diminish enough to start bringing manufacturing plants back to the richest nations.

Trade embargoes could speed that up. But better would be using technology like Baxter …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

… Affordably priced ($22,000), versatile and safe enough to work shoulder-to-shoulder with people, Baxter robots redefine how small, mid-size and large domestic manufacturers use automation to compete with manufacturers in low-cost regions of the world.

Baxter can’t build an iPhone yet, but it won’t be long.

(via Mashable)

take the bus, weirdo

On October 6, 2012October 4, 2012 By Rick McIn product complaints, product endorsements, travelLeave a comment

There are many reasons to choose a long distance bus over motor vehicle or plane.

Greyhound bus is $68.28 Saskatoon to Calgary. Actually, I paid $58.28 after a $10 discount for my International Youth Hostel card.

The cheapest flight I can find over the next 30 days is $156.58, the average well over $200.

The main downside is TIME.

Also, WEIRDOS. Weirdos ride alongside the elderly, new immigrants, criminals. And me.

switching Hotmail to Outlook

On September 30, 2012September 28, 2012 By Rick McIn Google, product endorsements1 Comment

Hotmail is horrible. Replacement — Outlook.com — is easily one of the top 2 online email clients.

Switching is EASY. It takes only seconds.

TechRadar rating = 4 ★★★★ /5

FOR
Cleaner interface
Active view works well
Can open and edit docs in mail page
Keyboard shortcuts

AGAINST
Skype not integrated
Most new features lifted from Gmail

techradar review

• Five Ways Outlook.com Beats Gmail — and One Way it Doesn’t

• How to move from Hotmail to Outlook.com

• Upgrade from Hotmail to Outlook.com

All your data and settings are moved over.

You can keep your StupidlyStillWith@hotmail.com address. Or switch to FINALLYquitHOTMAIL@outlook.com

Salman Khan Academy – online

On September 29, 2012 By Rick McIn education, product endorsements, things getting betterLeave a comment

Warren had myself and his parents watch an excellent TED talk on a super successful distance learning model. All free and open source.

Salman Amin ‘Sal’ Khan, born October 11, 1976, is a Bangladeshi American educator and the founder of the Khan Academy, a free online education platform and nonprofit organization. From a small office in his home, Khan has produced over 3000 videos elucidating a wide spectrum of academic subjects, mainly focusing on mathematics and the sciences.

As of September 2012, the Khan Academy channel on YouTube has attracted nearly 400,000 subscribers.

… In 2010, Google provided $2 million to support the creation of more courses and to enable the Khan Academy to translate its core library into the world’s most widely spoken languages. …

In March 2011, Salman Khan was invited to speak at TED by Bill Gates who says he uses the Khan Academy Exercise Software to teach his own children. …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

khanacademy.org

Aenaes McCharles – Bemocked of Destiny

On September 24, 2012September 21, 2012 By Rick McIn books, McCharles family, product endorsementsLeave a comment

“The actual struggles and experiences of a Canadian pioneer, and the recollections of a lifetime”

by Aeneas (Angus) McCharles (Oct 17, 1844 – 1906)

Bemocked of Destiny was first published in 1908, a condition of the last will and testament of an extraordinary Canadian pioneer. Teacher, speculator, geologist, prospector, community organizer and outspoken advisor to provincial and federal politicians, McCharles’s first-person account of life in the heady days of the late-19th-century frontier offer us more than a glimpse into the age in which he lived.

The story begins with McCharles’s boyhood on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, and goes on to describe the periods of his life spent in Bruce County and the cities of London, Ottawa and Toronto, Ontario, in the 1870s. He was part of the exciting booms in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in the 1880s. Finally McCharles settled as a prospector in Sudbury, Ontario, where he staked the North Star Mine, eventually part of Vale (Inco) mining property inventory.

Cape Breton University Press

Here’s a PDF of the scanned book – Bemocked of Destiny

My relative, Angus, was a terrific writer. I’ll post a review tomorrow. 🙂

Apple bungled the Smart Watch

On September 22, 2012September 20, 2012 By Rick McIn Apple, product endorsements, things getting worse1 Comment

… There was a glimmer of hope a year ago, when Apple updated the previous watch-sized iPod nano with new clock displays and even began selling nano watch bands in its retail stores. The nano wasn’t a very good watch, but the potential was blindingly obvious — it was Bluetooth and a connectivity protocol away from being the ultimate iPhone accessory. It felt like a brewing revolution in wearable computing …

… Instead there’s the new iPod nano.

It is a cautious step towards familiar price points and predictable sales numbers down a path of declining revenues, not a risky first step towards a revolutionary new platform. Worst of all, it’s not even a compelling product. Take away the multitouch screen and it might as well be a Samsung Yepp from 2007. It runs a goofy proprietary OS, comes in just one storage size, doesn’t support apps or popular next-generation music services like Spotify or Pandora, and generally makes no case for existing in a world where most teenagers get their music from YouTube. Anyone thinking about spending $149 on the iPod nano should tap-dance on street corners until they make the extra $50 it takes to buy the entry-level iPod touch instead. …

The Verge

I’m going to buy one of the OLD ones just to keep my iPod watch working for another couple of years.

SAMSUNG and others need to jump into the Smart Watch gap.

adding a U.S. dollar account

On September 19, 2012 By Rick McIn economics, product endorsements1 Comment

It was easy.

I dropped in to TD Canada Trust. They quickly added a U.S. Dollar Daily Interest Chequing Account.

This account is perfect if you:

Often make purchases in U.S. dollars
Receive cheques in U.S. dollars
Visit the U.S. a few times each year
Have U.S.-based investments

I’m hoping to SAVE a few bucks avoiding exchange fees.

The only cost on my account is $1 / transaction.

There is another option — Borderless Plan $4.95 / month. I don’t need that much account.

movie – Inside Job

On August 27, 2012 By Rick McIn economics, ethics, government, movies, product endorsementsLeave a comment

Inside Job is a 2010 documentary film about the late-2000s financial crisis …

… the systemic corruption of the United States by the financial services industry and the consequences …

… it won the 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. …

This has been by far the best single work I’ve seen explaining what happened in 2008.

Best rule of thumb: FOLLOW THE MONEY.

Who made money? Who lost money?

The film names names. And lays out why and how men who destroyed their own companies made millions & millions in bonuses.

Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube.

That was 2010.

U.S. Banks are bigger and more powerful in 2012 than ever before. Not much has changed. Obama talked the talk, but did not walk the walk. He’s done very little to reform.

Click PLAY or watch Obama on YouTube.

related – Matt Damon (narrator) Rips Obama – Would Prefer A ‘One Term President With Some Balls’ (VIDEO)

“After Obama, who else is there to hope for?”

Watch Inside Job online FREE.

Full text transcript of Inside Job.

Highly recommended.

Inequality of wealth is greater in the USA than any other developed nation. That’s not sustainable.

Even if you personally did not lose money in the crash of 2008, worse could be on the way.

lovin’ the Prius

On August 3, 2012August 2, 2012 By Rick McIn product endorsementsLeave a comment

Or, the Toyota Pius … as I oft call it.

The Prius first went on sale in Japan in 1997, making it the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle. …

In 2011, Toyota expanded the Prius family to include the Prius v, an extended hatchback wagon …