gotta go through the Canadian ripoffs of it... like PureTracks
It's no wonder that people are starting to refer to PureTracks as "PureCrap". It really is as bad as you've described. Unfortunately, we don't have any other choices (except to use P2P clients or get our American buddies to buy music from iTMS for us) until Apple completes its negotiations with the organizations that oversee music licensing in Canada. One of those organizations is the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA) and the other is...
...the Canadian version of the RIAA (whatever the hell they're called)...
...the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). So, far, the CRIA hasn't been doing all that much about music piracy. Most of their efforts have been half-hearted, at best. For example, see this Globe And Mail article covering the way that the CRIA has been dealing with music piracy (or not dealing with it, as the case may be). Some of their efforts are just plain silly.
Perhaps the folks that we should be more worried about are SOCAN (which was recently mentioned in this Slashdot thread related to the responsibility of ISPs in regards to the transmission of copyrighted music) and the CPCC (the rat-bastards that instituted levies on recordable media in Canada, and are now trying to get levies put on MP3s players here (as described in this Slashdot thread)).
I'm guessing that the Americans and Kiwis would probably be okay with that. From what I've read, their main gripe is having to assist people (read: tourists) who get into trouble while visiting Antarctica. I imagine that if the tourists are part of a self-supporting expedition with their own fuel and food reserves (hence not being a burden on anyone), then it wouldn't even register on the Americans' or Kiwis' consciousness.
So, if someone flew or sailed to Antarctica with extra fuel, and was then able to return home under their own power without needing assistance from the US or NZ bases, then everything would be hunky dory, I'd say.
D.
inhospitable? the americans are providing him food and shelter, and the kiwis have offered to fly him out on the first available flight. additionall, they've offered to ship his plane out after him (at his cost). all in all, sounds pretty reasonable!
This is going to cost Johanson an arm and a leg, regardless of how it all turns out. If the Americans and Kiwis continue to refuse to sell him any fuel, I suspect that he'll have to do one of two things to get his plane out of there:
1) Take New Zealand's offer to fly out on the next available flight, then pay to have his plane shipped or flown out; or
2) Charter a ship/plane to bring fuel and/or take him and his plane out
Shipping anything by air to Antarctica costs in the neighbourhood of six figures (I'm led to believe that private charters are on a per payload basis only). Might as well airlift his whole plane out if he's going to bother having a chartered aircraft come to Antarctica. Shipping by sea would be much cheaper... perhaps as little as $6,000 US (based on what it might cost to charter a ship from an IAATO member to bring fuel in, or as much as $50,000 to charter a ship big enough to take his plane out.
Maybe this is why Johanson is reluctant to leave his plane behind. He's probably asked himself this question already:
"Would it be cheaper to have my plane shipped to Chile, have fuel shipped in from somewhere, or build a new plane once I got home?" (I think that an RV-4 kit would be pushing $15,000 US, but probably much more outfitted like his must be)
Now it sort of makes sense why he's still holding out hope that the Americans or Kiwis will sell him the fuel he needs to fly his RV-4 back to NZ. Even though 400 litres of fuel would probably cost in the mid four-figure range (due to the enormous transportation costs involved in bringing anything to Antarctica), it's probably a lot cheaper than the alternatives.
D.
(ps. I may be talking out of ear here because my cost figures are mostly second-hand... anybody have more concrete figures?)
o DON'T take advantage of salaried workers. The tendency is to overwork them. Make sure all their hard work is appreciated.
The extension to this is that if you must push your employees hard, then you need to compensate/reward them properly. Some examples of ways to reward employees were discussed in this earlier Slashdot thread (re: Christmas bonuses).
As well as giving performance bonuses (and sometimes gifts as tokens of appreciation), at the request of some of my full-time employees I've also given them the option of banking overtime hours (versus just being paid straight overtime). An employee banks his/her hours at the overtime rate, then we calculate the corresponding hours that he/she will take off (at a time that is mutually beneficial for him/her and me). This may be similar to what Jellybob mentioned in his earlier post.
Of course, this type of time/wage manipulation may not be legal in some cities/states/provinces/countries. I had to get a variance from the labour relations board to do this legally. but, everyone came on board wit hthe idea and it's working for us. It works particularly well for my casual employees. They get more hours by filling in when the full-timers are on their banked time off.
Anyway, the point that I started off making is to treat the employees right. Happy employees make efficient employees. Efficient employees make my business more profitable. I complete the circle by "sharing the wealth" and making my emplyees happy.
I cant see how you think maglev is any safer. You now have to worry about power failures while your traveling at a high rate of speed.
Japanese maglevs have rubber-shod wheels that the trains sit on when they're not levitating. If a train loses power, then it will settle onto the wheels and then be stopped mechanically (i.e. with friction brakes) by the conductor or by remote control.
By the way, most maglevs have emergency power supplies that are designed to maintain levitation and electrodynamic braking capability in the event of power failure.
Those are just two safety measures among many that are built-in to this type of system. It's naive to assume that the designers of these trains haven't thought about the types of things that could conceivably go wrong with them.
Good idea. Showing her the basic tags would take only a short time. With the help of resources from the web (such as this HTML tutorial geared towards kids) to reinforce what you teach her, she will probably retain the knowledge.
One other benefit of learning/using HTML: It's platform-agnostic. It translates equally well from the PC at her house to the Macs in her school.
Re:speed is not a concern
on
DVD-Rs go 8x
·
· Score: 1
I dont know which method dvd writers use, havent been able to take much of a look since i havent yet seriously considered buying them, but that should help a bit with how the various burner tech's work.
The writing method depends on the disc format and what the device is meant to be used for. For instance, DVD-R and DVD+R support CLV, DVD-RW supports CLV, DVD+RW supports both CAV and CLV, and DVD-RAM supports Z-CAV. Not all DVD+RW writers support CAV, though.
CAV = Constant Angular Velocity (useful when you need high access/seek speeds - most commonly used with HDs, but useful when copying data off of a DVD, for instance) CLV = Constant Linear Velocity (slower access due to the constant readjustment of rotation speed, but has a higher areal density, and is better suited to real-time recording due to constant transfer rate, bit size, bit spacing, and linear velocity) Z-CAV = Zoned Constant Angular Velocity (an older standard which is often used by MO drives. It offers the higher data density and reasonable read speeds)
I saw about as many fist fights between two girls as I did two boys
You've brought up something that deserves comment (from me, anyway)...
In my elementary and high school days (20+ years ago), fights were always between two people (whether boys or girls) and never escalated beyond fisticuffs. Usually, after a few mutual knockdowns, everybody ended up as best friends. That's all changed. There were never these massive gang fights that I hear about everyday now. Even more mindboggling, fights today usually involve weapons (everything from rocks to machetes to firearms).
What the hell is wrong with kids these days?!
(Hmm, that sounded a lot like what my parents used to say about me.;-) )
There are rumours that a future version of Mac OS X will have virtual desktops. For example, see this AppleInsider article.
As mentioned in the article, Panther already has an early iteration of this functionality, but it's currently very buggy and only spawns one extra desktop. The article describes how to activate this feature, right now, for those that can't wait for Apple to officially implement it in a future OS revision. We probably won't have to wait very long for that, though, because Apple is probably aware of the popularity of CodeTek's VirtualDesktop
and they'll want to jump on that bandwagon as soon as possible.
I may have misread what was written in the articles that I linked to in one of my posts from another Slashdot thread. But, in the CD Freaks article that I linked to, it clearly says "65% cut".
This is neither here nor there, though. I still stand by my earlier post above, however. Apple does not make a profit from iTMS, and may not in the future unless some things change.
As for the second bit about Walmart's retail presence vs. Apple's, I merely pointed out that Apple does have a retail presence. Your earlier statement seemed to indicate the contrary. I merely pointed out that your statement (as I read it) was incorrect.
shark72 stated that Apple does not have "a network of retail stores in which they can advertise for free". I pointed out that this assertion is incorrect. I made no statement to the effect that Walmart retail stores and Apple Stores were comparable, perfectly or otherwise.
(Actually, may I ask why you think they aren't comparable? Because of the sheer number of Walmarts vs. Apple Stores?)
Apple has been sinking a metric buttload of promotion money into iTMS so they aren't profitable at this moment.
iTMS probably won't be profitable in the future, either, unless certain things change: 1) RIAA's cut of the iTMS proceeds decreases (from a reported 65%); 2) iTMS' operating costs (hosting, bandwidth, credit card company fees, etc.) decrease; and/or 3) they increase the per-song cost.
Additionally, one thing Walmart has that Apple doesn't is a network of retail stores in which they can advertise for free.
You seem to have forgotten about the brick-and-mortar Apple Stores (70+ stores, with more on the way).
His other statement (about waiting a few days before installing an OS update) is good advice, echoed by Mac troubleshooting websites such as MacFixIt and MacInTouch. Both offer excellent coverage of (and cures for) issues brought about by Mac OS updates. Reading the troubleshooting reports before installing an update can prevent a lot of unnecessary grief.
I'll also note that Apple's own Discussion Forums) provide a place to seek troubleshooting advice and/or a place to vent your frustrations. Since Apple employees monitor the discussion threads, it's possible that at least some of what's posted there is noted and acted upon.
Ethics:
iTunes - Apple takes it's (big) cut and then the Artist's (frequently RIAA affiliated) label takes most of the rest.
Magnatune - The artist gets 50%!!!
Again, no contest. Instead of feeling guilty about fueling a powermad monster when you buy music you can feel good about supporting the people who actually made it!
Actually, according to Steve Jobs, Apple doesn't make any profit from the iTMS. Their cut of the proceeds barely covers their costs, apparently, while the RIAA takes the lion's share (leaving the artist with a pittance, of course).
(This info came from Jobs' recent financial results conference call (of which the iTMS data can be found in this CD Freaks new item (with a link to the original story from The Register.))
Other than that, I mostly agree with the points that you raised in your post.
Usually it's the other way around. According to this CD Media World article, light-coloured (i.e. gold) CDs have a higher reflectivity, and thus a greater chance of being read by the majority of CD drives, than green or blue CDs.
(This article is kind of old, though, so I don't know how accurate it is, anymore. Still, I think it gives us some semi-objective info to rely on.)
Kodak used to subject their CDs to "torture tests" to see how they'd stand up. Their "Gold Ultima" CDs were reported to have a 100-year archival life. Now, they're saying the same thing about the Ultima brand (now that the Gold brand is discontinued). Study results are here.
All I can say is that Kodak seems to have done a lot worse to their CDs than your friend did with just his tongue.:-)
First chance I've had to look over this thread in a few days. Anyway...
I misspoke myself earlier. Thanks for catching that. I had confused the pending PIPEDA legislation with the Privacy Act (which concerns itself with personal info) and with legislation (that applies to private organizations) that is already in place in B.C. and Quebec. The bottom line is that if you're not in either of those provinces, then my point about contravening privacy laws was moot.
On a sidenote, I did speak with a fellow at Industry Canada in Ottawa about the legality of surreptitious recordings. He also echoed your sentiment about it not falling under the Privacy Act (his opinion was that it's a "grey area" that may need amendment), but did note that it's definitely constrained under the Criminal Code of Canada and may run afoul of several provincial labour laws. So, although you may be okay under current privacy legislation, you may have contravened other legislation. As the Industry Canada guy says, there are several laws that overlap and something that is legal (or unaddressed) under one act may be illegal under another. Basically, his advice is to beware, especially because other provinces (notably Alberta and Ontario(?)) have tabled PIPEDA-like legislation that have passed through the legislative process but are awaiting Royal assent.
By the way, I tried to get farther up the chain (towards the Privacy Commissioner of Canada) to get more info, but, as you know, the Privacy Commission is having its troubles these days. Better to let them sort out their own problems without distraction, I'd say.;-)
What I don't like is the fact that Apple is the sole manufacturer of the hardware required to run the OS. Monopolies tend to create weird pricing and reduce innovation.
Well, I'll concede that Apple's pricing is unappealing, but you must be thinking of some other company (*cough*Microsoft*cough*) when you mention "reduce[d] innovation". I think that even the most strident Apple-hater would agree that Apple's is innovative.
A good way to get a free extended warranty is to purchase an item with a credit card that offers purchase security and extended warranty protection (where the standard warranty is effectively doubled). Visa Gold/Platinum offers this. I assume that some other credit cards do as well.
Seriously, there is nothing to prevent you from taping the conversation between you and the sales rep the next time you go to buy a car, to make sure that you get everything you're promised. And you DON'T have to let the sales rep know you're taping the conversation. I've done it.
Actually, that's a breach of Canada's Privacy Act. As the AC above mentioned earlier, in many other national and municipal jurisdictions, you need the consent of the other party before you can record any conversation in which he/she is participating. There are a couple of conditions under which you can legally record someone's conversation when he/she hasn't given consent: 1) you're a cop or other government agent in the course of your duty (e.g. investigating a crime); or 2) you're defending your property or person and you or someone else has surreptitiously recorded the incident as proof of the act.
Personally, I don't think that buying a car falls under either of those conditions.
The penalties for breaching someone's privacy can range from awarding damages (i.e. money) to the person whose privacy you breached, to having an injunction served against you (i.e. barring you form contacting that person, or making his/her conversation public). And, by the way, you have to surrender the device and media that you used to record the conversation with.
So, just to bring this back to what you were originally talking about (i.e. a company's privacy rights, or lack thereof), a company's employees enjoy certain privacy rights that can't be overriden. The Privacy Act applies to them, as well.
Slashdot Mirror
gotta go through the Canadian ripoffs of it... like PureTracks
...the Canadian version of the RIAA (whatever the hell they're called)...
...the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). So, far, the CRIA hasn't been doing all that much about music piracy. Most of their efforts have been half-hearted, at best. For example, see this Globe And Mail article covering the way that the CRIA has been dealing with music piracy (or not dealing with it, as the case may be). Some of their efforts are just plain silly.
It's no wonder that people are starting to refer to PureTracks as "PureCrap". It really is as bad as you've described. Unfortunately, we don't have any other choices (except to use P2P clients or get our American buddies to buy music from iTMS for us) until Apple completes its negotiations with the organizations that oversee music licensing in Canada. One of those organizations is the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA) and the other is...
Perhaps the folks that we should be more worried about are SOCAN (which was recently mentioned in this Slashdot thread related to the responsibility of ISPs in regards to the transmission of copyrighted music) and the CPCC (the rat-bastards that instituted levies on recordable media in Canada, and are now trying to get levies put on MP3s players here (as described in this Slashdot thread)).
D.
I'm guessing that the Americans and Kiwis would probably be okay with that. From what I've read, their main gripe is having to assist people (read: tourists) who get into trouble while visiting Antarctica. I imagine that if the tourists are part of a self-supporting expedition with their own fuel and food reserves (hence not being a burden on anyone), then it wouldn't even register on the Americans' or Kiwis' consciousness.
So, if someone flew or sailed to Antarctica with extra fuel, and was then able to return home under their own power without needing assistance from the US or NZ bases, then everything would be hunky dory, I'd say. D.
inhospitable? the americans are providing him food and shelter, and the kiwis have offered to fly him out on the first available flight. additionall, they've offered to ship his plane out after him (at his cost). all in all, sounds pretty reasonable!
This is going to cost Johanson an arm and a leg, regardless of how it all turns out. If the Americans and Kiwis continue to refuse to sell him any fuel, I suspect that he'll have to do one of two things to get his plane out of there:
1) Take New Zealand's offer to fly out on the next available flight, then pay to have his plane shipped or flown out; or
2) Charter a ship/plane to bring fuel and/or take him and his plane out
Shipping anything by air to Antarctica costs in the neighbourhood of six figures (I'm led to believe that private charters are on a per payload basis only). Might as well airlift his whole plane out if he's going to bother having a chartered aircraft come to Antarctica. Shipping by sea would be much cheaper... perhaps as little as $6,000 US (based on what it might cost to charter a ship from an IAATO member to bring fuel in, or as much as $50,000 to charter a ship big enough to take his plane out.
Maybe this is why Johanson is reluctant to leave his plane behind. He's probably asked himself this question already: "Would it be cheaper to have my plane shipped to Chile, have fuel shipped in from somewhere, or build a new plane once I got home?" (I think that an RV-4 kit would be pushing $15,000 US, but probably much more outfitted like his must be)
Now it sort of makes sense why he's still holding out hope that the Americans or Kiwis will sell him the fuel he needs to fly his RV-4 back to NZ. Even though 400 litres of fuel would probably cost in the mid four-figure range (due to the enormous transportation costs involved in bringing anything to Antarctica), it's probably a lot cheaper than the alternatives.
D.
(ps. I may be talking out of ear here because my cost figures are mostly second-hand... anybody have more concrete figures?)
o DON'T take advantage of salaried workers. The tendency is to overwork them. Make sure all their hard work is appreciated.
The extension to this is that if you must push your employees hard, then you need to compensate/reward them properly. Some examples of ways to reward employees were discussed in this earlier Slashdot thread (re: Christmas bonuses).
As well as giving performance bonuses (and sometimes gifts as tokens of appreciation), at the request of some of my full-time employees I've also given them the option of banking overtime hours (versus just being paid straight overtime). An employee banks his/her hours at the overtime rate, then we calculate the corresponding hours that he/she will take off (at a time that is mutually beneficial for him/her and me). This may be similar to what Jellybob mentioned in his earlier post.
Of course, this type of time/wage manipulation may not be legal in some cities/states/provinces/countries. I had to get a variance from the labour relations board to do this legally. but, everyone came on board wit hthe idea and it's working for us. It works particularly well for my casual employees. They get more hours by filling in when the full-timers are on their banked time off.
Anyway, the point that I started off making is to treat the employees right. Happy employees make efficient employees. Efficient employees make my business more profitable. I complete the circle by "sharing the wealth" and making my emplyees happy.
D.
I cant see how you think maglev is any safer. You now have to worry about power failures while your traveling at a high rate of speed.
Japanese maglevs have rubber-shod wheels that the trains sit on when they're not levitating. If a train loses power, then it will settle onto the wheels and then be stopped mechanically (i.e. with friction brakes) by the conductor or by remote control.
By the way, most maglevs have emergency power supplies that are designed to maintain levitation and electrodynamic braking capability in the event of power failure.
Those are just two safety measures among many that are built-in to this type of system. It's naive to assume that the designers of these trains haven't thought about the types of things that could conceivably go wrong with them.
D.
Good idea. Showing her the basic tags would take only a short time. With the help of resources from the web (such as this HTML tutorial geared towards kids) to reinforce what you teach her, she will probably retain the knowledge.
One other benefit of learning/using HTML: It's platform-agnostic. It translates equally well from the PC at her house to the Macs in her school.
D.
There's a decent definition of "grok" at HyperDictionary.
D.
I dont know which method dvd writers use, havent been able to take much of a look since i havent yet seriously considered buying them, but that should help a bit with how the various burner tech's work.
The writing method depends on the disc format and what the device is meant to be used for. For instance, DVD-R and DVD+R support CLV, DVD-RW supports CLV, DVD+RW supports both CAV and CLV, and DVD-RAM supports Z-CAV. Not all DVD+RW writers support CAV, though.
CAV = Constant Angular Velocity (useful when you need high access/seek speeds - most commonly used with HDs, but useful when copying data off of a DVD, for instance)
CLV = Constant Linear Velocity (slower access due to the constant readjustment of rotation speed, but has a higher areal density, and is better suited to real-time recording due to constant transfer rate, bit size, bit spacing, and linear velocity)
Z-CAV = Zoned Constant Angular Velocity (an older standard which is often used by MO drives. It offers the higher data density and reasonable read speeds)
D.
I saw about as many fist fights between two girls as I did two boys
;-) )
You've brought up something that deserves comment (from me, anyway)...
In my elementary and high school days (20+ years ago), fights were always between two people (whether boys or girls) and never escalated beyond fisticuffs. Usually, after a few mutual knockdowns, everybody ended up as best friends. That's all changed. There were never these massive gang fights that I hear about everyday now. Even more mindboggling, fights today usually involve weapons (everything from rocks to machetes to firearms).
What the hell is wrong with kids these days?!
(Hmm, that sounded a lot like what my parents used to say about me.
D.
There are rumours that a future version of Mac OS X will have virtual desktops. For example, see this AppleInsider article.
As mentioned in the article, Panther already has an early iteration of this functionality, but it's currently very buggy and only spawns one extra desktop. The article describes how to activate this feature, right now, for those that can't wait for Apple to officially implement it in a future OS revision. We probably won't have to wait very long for that, though, because Apple is probably aware of the popularity of CodeTek's VirtualDesktop and they'll want to jump on that bandwagon as soon as possible.
D.
I may have misread what was written in the articles that I linked to in one of my posts from another Slashdot thread. But, in the CD Freaks article that I linked to, it clearly says "65% cut".
This is neither here nor there, though. I still stand by my earlier post above, however. Apple does not make a profit from iTMS, and may not in the future unless some things change.
As for the second bit about Walmart's retail presence vs. Apple's, I merely pointed out that Apple does have a retail presence. Your earlier statement seemed to indicate the contrary. I merely pointed out that your statement (as I read it) was incorrect.
D.
I just re-read my last post. I left out a few words from the last paragraph. It should read:
Actually, may I ask why you think they aren't comparable, in terms of free advertising? Because of the sheer number of Walmarts vs. Apple Stores?
D.
shark72 stated that Apple does not have "a network of retail stores in which they can advertise for free". I pointed out that this assertion is incorrect. I made no statement to the effect that Walmart retail stores and Apple Stores were comparable, perfectly or otherwise.
(Actually, may I ask why you think they aren't comparable? Because of the sheer number of Walmarts vs. Apple Stores?)
D.
Apple has been sinking a metric buttload of promotion money into iTMS so they aren't profitable at this moment.
iTMS probably won't be profitable in the future, either, unless certain things change: 1) RIAA's cut of the iTMS proceeds decreases (from a reported 65%); 2) iTMS' operating costs (hosting, bandwidth, credit card company fees, etc.) decrease; and/or 3) they increase the per-song cost.
Additionally, one thing Walmart has that Apple doesn't is a network of retail stores in which they can advertise for free.
You seem to have forgotten about the brick-and-mortar Apple Stores (70+ stores, with more on the way).
D.
Audi publishes its own repair manuals (in printed format or as CD-ROMs). You can buy them from the Audi Technical Literature Ordering Center.
D.
Well, in the case of lullabud's Ethernet issues, Apple may deserve blame. See the following Apple Knowledge Base article:
Mac OS X 10.2.8: Can't Connect via Ethernet After Installing Update
His other statement (about waiting a few days before installing an OS update) is good advice, echoed by Mac troubleshooting websites such as MacFixIt and MacInTouch. Both offer excellent coverage of (and cures for) issues brought about by Mac OS updates. Reading the troubleshooting reports before installing an update can prevent a lot of unnecessary grief.
I'll also note that Apple's own Discussion Forums) provide a place to seek troubleshooting advice and/or a place to vent your frustrations. Since Apple employees monitor the discussion threads, it's possible that at least some of what's posted there is noted and acted upon.
D.
Ethics:
iTunes - Apple takes it's (big) cut and then the Artist's (frequently RIAA affiliated) label takes most of the rest.
Magnatune - The artist gets 50%!!!
Again, no contest. Instead of feeling guilty about fueling a powermad monster when you buy music you can feel good about supporting the people who actually made it!
Actually, according to Steve Jobs, Apple doesn't make any profit from the iTMS. Their cut of the proceeds barely covers their costs, apparently, while the RIAA takes the lion's share (leaving the artist with a pittance, of course).
(This info came from Jobs' recent financial results conference call (of which the iTMS data can be found in this CD Freaks new item (with a link to the original story from The Register.))
Other than that, I mostly agree with the points that you raised in your post.
D.
Usually it's the other way around. According to this CD Media World article, light-coloured (i.e. gold) CDs have a higher reflectivity, and thus a greater chance of being read by the majority of CD drives, than green or blue CDs.
(This article is kind of old, though, so I don't know how accurate it is, anymore. Still, I think it gives us some semi-objective info to rely on.)
D.
Kodak used to subject their CDs to "torture tests" to see how they'd stand up. Their "Gold Ultima" CDs were reported to have a 100-year archival life. Now, they're saying the same thing about the Ultima brand (now that the Gold brand is discontinued). Study results are here.
:-)
All I can say is that Kodak seems to have done a lot worse to their CDs than your friend did with just his tongue.
D.
Check here and here for actual pictures of the spots, and here for a 1280x854 overlay diagram which maps out the exact locations of the spots.
D.
Hello Tom,
;-)
First chance I've had to look over this thread in a few days. Anyway...
I misspoke myself earlier. Thanks for catching that. I had confused the pending PIPEDA legislation with the Privacy Act (which concerns itself with personal info) and with legislation (that applies to private organizations) that is already in place in B.C. and Quebec. The bottom line is that if you're not in either of those provinces, then my point about contravening privacy laws was moot.
On a sidenote, I did speak with a fellow at Industry Canada in Ottawa about the legality of surreptitious recordings. He also echoed your sentiment about it not falling under the Privacy Act (his opinion was that it's a "grey area" that may need amendment), but did note that it's definitely constrained under the Criminal Code of Canada and may run afoul of several provincial labour laws. So, although you may be okay under current privacy legislation, you may have contravened other legislation. As the Industry Canada guy says, there are several laws that overlap and something that is legal (or unaddressed) under one act may be illegal under another. Basically, his advice is to beware, especially because other provinces (notably Alberta and Ontario(?)) have tabled PIPEDA-like legislation that have passed through the legislative process but are awaiting Royal assent.
By the way, I tried to get farther up the chain (towards the Privacy Commissioner of Canada) to get more info, but, as you know, the Privacy Commission is having its troubles these days. Better to let them sort out their own problems without distraction, I'd say.
D.
What I don't like is the fact that Apple is the sole manufacturer of the hardware required to run the OS. Monopolies tend to create weird pricing and reduce innovation.
Well, I'll concede that Apple's pricing is unappealing, but you must be thinking of some other company (*cough*Microsoft*cough*) when you mention "reduce[d] innovation". I think that even the most strident Apple-hater would agree that Apple's is innovative.
D.
Does it make you feel any better knowing that it's about -35 in Blue River, B.C., right now? :-)
D.
A good way to get a free extended warranty is to purchase an item with a credit card that offers purchase security and extended warranty protection (where the standard warranty is effectively doubled). Visa Gold/Platinum offers this. I assume that some other credit cards do as well.
D.
Seriously, there is nothing to prevent you from taping the conversation between you and the sales rep the next time you go to buy a car, to make sure that you get everything you're promised. And you DON'T have to let the sales rep know you're taping the conversation. I've done it.
:-)
Actually, that's a breach of Canada's Privacy Act. As the AC above mentioned earlier, in many other national and municipal jurisdictions, you need the consent of the other party before you can record any conversation in which he/she is participating. There are a couple of conditions under which you can legally record someone's conversation when he/she hasn't given consent: 1) you're a cop or other government agent in the course of your duty (e.g. investigating a crime); or 2) you're defending your property or person and you or someone else has surreptitiously recorded the incident as proof of the act.
Personally, I don't think that buying a car falls under either of those conditions.
The penalties for breaching someone's privacy can range from awarding damages (i.e. money) to the person whose privacy you breached, to having an injunction served against you (i.e. barring you form contacting that person, or making his/her conversation public). And, by the way, you have to surrender the device and media that you used to record the conversation with.
So, just to bring this back to what you were originally talking about (i.e. a company's privacy rights, or lack thereof), a company's employees enjoy certain privacy rights that can't be overriden. The Privacy Act applies to them, as well.
D.
p.s. Greetings to a fellow Canuck.