Rogers announced their new voice & data rates this past weekend, and boy did it create quite the stir, first on the internet, and then getting coverage in mainstream newspaper and television news. So what’s the big deal? Essentially, that Rogers voice/data rate plans are some of the least competitive rates available in the industrialized world, and despite monthly plans ranging as high as $115/month for the top-end plan, that still doesn’t get you unlimited data. Unlike many other iPhone carriers, Rogers simply doesn’t offer unlimited data for the iPhone, period.
Rogers and Fido (owned by Rogers) essentially have identical service plans, which can be seen here and here respectively. While the lack of an unlimited data plan on the surface might seem like a major issue, it’s important to put things in perspective. Since no one can theoretically USE unlimited data in any given month, having an unlimited plan is really just a way to make people feel at ease that they will NEVER incur any data usage charges. One can argue that the same thing is accomplished by simply having a plan that has a high enough data cap that you’d never have to worry about hitting it. (more…)
July 3rd, 2008 at 03:32pm
madgunde
Back at the end of April, I mentioned that Rogers had announced that they would be bringing the iPhone to Canada “later this year”. For those who maybe missed the news, “Later this year” means July 11. Yep, after just over a very long year of waiting, us Canadians will be able to walk into our local Rogers or Fido store and buy the new iPhone 3G!
Rogers, in what seems like a feeble attempt to instill suspense, is advertising that “Something really big is coming July 11th”, as though we’re all supposed to be in the dark about what that something is. Someone should ring up Ted Rogers and let him know that mystery teaser ads are much less effective if everyone already knows what it is. (more…)
June 16th, 2008 at 08:45am
madgunde
If you’re a regular to this blog, you might have noticed something is different about the site this morning. I’ll give you a minute to think about what it is… (Cue appropriate gameshow time passing sound effect). Time’s up! If you guessed either the Art Of Geek logo, the header background image or both, you’re correct!
I’ve wanted to change the header background for a while to make my website more ‘my own’. The previous gradient/pattern was based on the default image that came with the wordpress template I based my design on, called Blix by Sebastian Schmieg.
This new header background image is based on a great photograph I came across (shown above, click for the full size image), which was taken by Kevin Hiscott, who was kind enough to give me permission to use it for my website (thanks Kevin!). Check out his photo blog, Portway Ave : No Exit, if you want to see more of his work. He’s got a lot of great photos on there that showcase his talent. From the looks of some of the photos on his blog, he’s also a Mac fan, which means he’s got taste too. 
(more…)
May 16th, 2008 at 11:18am
madgunde
[Update 1] Just a quick note for those of you who may have missed it, Rogers has made an official announcement that they have reached a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada “later this year”, according to MacDailyNews:
Ted Rogers, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rogers Communications Inc. today issued the following statement:
“We’re thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year. We can’t tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned.”
No more details are provided, nor is a link to any press release or article to back it up. We’ll just have to take their word for it I guess…
This is great news! Hopefully it will be in time for the launch of the rumored 3G iPhone and Apple AppStore software download service slated for June. (more…)
April 30th, 2008 at 11:02am
madgunde
[Update 1] Given the difficulty I had securing a PLAYSTATION 3 on launch weekend back in 2006, I got in the habit of pre-ordering popular PS3 games from Futureshop.ca months in advance as a security precaution in case they were in short supply come launch day.
So far this hasn’t really been worth it, because there hasn’t been a single game released that I wasn’t able to simply walk into a local store on launch day and pick up off the shelf. The PS3 just doesn’t have enough of an install base yet to make it an issue, I figured. But for must have games, I sitll pre-ordered them just in case.
Now me being the impatient impulse buyer I am, I usually don’t wait for my pre-order to arrive via Canada Post, since that would mean waiting an extra 2-3 days before getting it. What I do is go pick up the game on launch day and then cancel my order online or by calling Futureshop.ca’s top secret toll-free customer service phone number. If it’s already shipped, it only costs me $1.99 for the shipping since I just return the unopened package for a refund (they don’t refund shipping charges, obviously). (more…)
April 29th, 2008 at 03:03pm
madgunde
[Update 4] Time flies when you’re having fun. I’m reminded of this as I think about the fact that I’ve owned my PLAYSTATION 3 for almost a year and a half now. I almost can’t believe I’ve been enjoying it for that long, but considering how much fun I’ve had with it, it’s no wonder. But another way to look at this timeframe is by how many months it’s been since the warranty has expired. Of course, how many months doesn’t really matter, it’s really just a question of whether it is expired or not.
Unfortunately my PS3’s age falls on the wrong side of that expiry date. Unfortunate because last night, my PS3 died. I was sitting on my couch racing a virtual VW Golf GTI around a virtual track in Gran Tourismo 5: Prologue (a fantastic racing simulator, by the way) when suddenly my PS3 beeped 3 times, shut itself off and just sat there with a flashing red LED. (more…)
April 17th, 2008 at 01:07pm
madgunde
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