Microsoft drops Windows 7 price to take on £20 Snow Leopard - Mac software - Macworld UK

Talk about a huge company giving the EU the finger. I laughed so hard when I read this… go to the article and look at the sub headline. There will no deal for people in the EU, this goes along with a news item a few weeks back when Microsoft saying there will not be including a browser, the thing you use to browse the internet, ok for the geeks in the EU, not so good for people like my Dad.

A few years ago Microsoft was fined by the EU for bad business practice in that their browser, which was/is part of the OS, was a monopoly and it should be removable. The whole things was started by the company that makes the Opera browser, what they are wanting is for Microsoft to include other browsers within the OS so people would have a choice. Well guess what, Microsoft is basically saying nope if we have to put other browsers in we will not put any in.

Of course this may backfire on them, but what they are hoping is that people in the EU will be pretty upset at no browser and upgrade/discount for current users and those people will contact their EU MP. Guess we shall see.

Microsoft drops Windows 7 price to take on £20 Snow Leopard - Mac software - Macworld UK

ISPs must help police snoop on internet under new bill

Came across a couple of articles of the past couple of days…

• ISPs must help police snoop on internet under new bill
• http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/06/24/montana-online-passwords236.html

I think we are going it a little to far, I have always believed that things like CCTV camera were something which could be used to help catch criminals who have committed a crime, but these powers that the government is looking is way over the top. I have yet to do some digging into what they are truly looking at, but a face value this scares me. The thought of the websites I visit being tracked by the police is scary, how many times has some surfed the web and ended up at a page they really did not intend to go to?

… and again the end of the year comes by

The years here in the IT Department seem to go by so quickly, I guess it’s due to, in part to, how busy we are. This summer is heading to be as busy as ever some of the projects on the go for the department are:

• Deploying Microsoft Forefront Client Security, replacing Trend.
• Install 100 Smartboards
• Fully Deploy SCCM and how we deploy updates
• Deploy computers to the new Maude Clifford School
• Migrate to a new library system, L4U
• Setup student email for the high school
• Start the wireless installation for all the schools
• Package and deploy a number of new software title including iTunes
• Start the whole implementation of the server refresh

… and the list goes on and on.

So as the teachers and support staff enjoy a well deserved break, the IT Department continues on to renew, refresh and add new systems to the very highly complex tech environment that we currently have.

If you work in the district and want to swing by and see what we are up to, doughnuts are always welcome :-)

Much Needed Progress and all that…

So it was 6:40am and was woken up by the sound of a gas powered saw cutting away at the sidewalk behind our house on 84ave. Yep 6:40am on a Saturday morning. So I look out the window and see a number of Aquatera vehicles and workers, one assumes doing some work as they start the fix up and twinning of 84ave, I have to say a much needed project.

Much needed. Does this mean that we let common sense out the window? Yes the work is needed, the roads in the city have been a in state for a number of years, and 84ave has been really bad, the city has been working hard to address this, despite thinking otherwise at times. - The roads were bad due to neglect of a councils of the past.

Should we have to put aside common sense for what are years of work just because the works needs to be done? Should the noise by-law apply to Aquatera, the city and it’s contractors if the work is not an emergency? I think it should apply. The work is needed but during the process we should still have a quality of life and the noise by law is there as part of ensuring the residents of the city does have a quality of life, and being woken up before 7am on a weekend does not fit in with what I would call quality of life.

I am awaiting a response from Ald. Bill Given and will keep you posted on my thoughts. BTW I think Bill is one of our better councillors, through his Facebook and Twitter updates you can actual see what he is doing as a member of council.

One last note, I just popped over to the city page on road work for this week, the week of June 20-27, and there is not work being done on 84ave… guess Aquatera does not have to pass that info on!!!

butterflies

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

In the crowd

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Balloons how cool

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Just been moved...

Into the Oilers bench....how cool is that...eat your heart Dennis Vobeyda

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Cheeseburger in a can: bought, cooked, and eaten! | Doobybrain.com

Ummm…. this really does look very tasty.. . seriously, who comes up with this stuff?

Cheeseburger in a can: bought, cooked, and eaten! | Doobybrain.com

Summer

Summer is coming… supposed to be here sometime on Sunday, although the weather has been pretty good this week.

A trip to Edmonton tomorrow to see Coldplay again, we saw them last year in Toronto after the cancelled their Edmonton gig, but now they are back and if it last year was anything to go by it will be a pretty awesome concert, plan to send some Blog pictures via my phone, so stay tuned.

Going to also do some shopping in Edmonton, use the gift card I got from Global knowledge, although I only have half what I should have got…grrrr But but the UK coming up need some new clothes.

This is a pretty boring post as I am going to close now…

Mobile Blog here we go

So as I try to Blog more I am going to try the mobile blog as well.

Britain proposes landline tax to boost broadband access

As one of the comments says Britain’s land mass is a lot smaller than Canada so to be able to offer Broadband to everyone with a tax like this is doable. It’s a shame Canada really does not have a vision when it comes to the country being connected by Broadband, would it not be nice to be able to go to any city and small town and access the web via your laptop or other portable device?

Britain proposes landline tax to boost broadband access

Ticketmaster is the Hypocrite Master | Savefans! Blog - Breaking Music and Sports News

 

Ticketmaster is the Hypocrite Master | Savefans! Blog - Breaking Music and Sports News

 

No browsers in European version of Windows 7, Microsoft says

BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Lord Healey 'sorry for Thatcher'

Very interesting article, in some way Klein always reminded me of Thatcher.

 

BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Lord Healey 'sorry for Thatcher'

New Library

I just updated my Facebook page to say a bit about the new library, but thought I would write a little more in my Blog.

 

So been in GP for 21 years and when I hear people moan about the cost of the new cultural centre I ask them how long they have lived here, many will say 5, 6, 7 years, so my response is that I have lived and paid taxes here for 21 years so I deserve something better than a used liquor store, yep the old library used to be a liquor store.

 

Grande Prairie is growing, ok slowed down a bit of late, and that growth has put a strain in everything, from the roads to facilities. Look how many new stores have gone up in the past 10 years, that’s a sign of growth, but it’s been a while since we got some good new city facilities. Yes we got the coke centre a few years ago, great for the sports people and I don’t be grudge them having the facility. It’s all part of growth, so the cultural in for another section of the community, and in a few years time a new multiplex which would be bother for the sports people and the families, a good balance I would say.

 

I guess the only thing missing from the cultural centre is a theatre, I hope that within the next 10 years there will be a theatre over in that area, 2nd street theatre is really past it’s best and well don’t get me going on the huge classroom they call a theatre over at the college… (sorry outside voice)

 

So to wrap up, a viable city is a place that has amenities for all it’s residents, be it young and and single, families, older and all in between. So as you wander around the new cultural centre thing of it as one of the spokes in a city.

Cricket – “The Rules”

 

Just listening to CBC radio before heading off to work, due to some issues CBC it’s CBC Vancouver!!

 

Anyhow they were talking about Cricket, such a summer sport were games go on for days, well a while back someone asked me what the rules of cricket were, simple I said;

 

You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side thats been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out.

When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay all out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game!

 

Howzat!

 

So there we have it, pass it along.

 

Well off to work

 

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