Protect students' free access to Web, groups say By CAROLINE ALPHONSO EDUCATION REPORTER, Globe and Mail (Sept 23) - National education groups are fighting a proposal by House of Commons standing committee on Canadian heritage to require payment from teachers for use of material on the Internet that is now free.
Could it be true that the committee is that daft? And if true, does that mean the committee is looking to make everyone pay for what they find on the internet? If creators want payment they should use a for-fee subscription system.
Finally - there is a local search for Canada thanks to Google. Search for shops and services in your area. Accepts postal code and will show addresses with map for a specified radius - 2 km, 10, 25, and 75. http://local.google.ca/. It's better than the search-by-distance at Superpages.ca, but it still can't find all the LCBO stores. Maps. though, are excellent.
A wiser Internet? By JACK KAPICA Globe and Mail Update (Sep 20) More older Canadians are using the Internet. Report from Ipsos-Reid found that "60 per cent of people 55 years of ago and older have Internet access" compared to 48% last year. Their use of the Internet for e-commerce activity is not as developed as with younger users. Only 41 % over 55 use online banking or shop online.
I must have missed the announcement. The Globe and Mail has an Insider Edition with more content, some of it exclusive, along with the much desired access to archives, and some personal tools including alerts. Perhaps this explains why the Globe never responds to my request for an e-mail newsletter - they have probably discontinued the free version. Package sounds very attractive costs $14.95 / month + tax. Subscribers to the print edition (5 or 6 days a week) pay $6.95 / month + tax.
Canadian kids show balance in Net use Globe and Mail (Sept 15) A study commissioned by AOL Canada found that 75% of Canadian kids between 12 and 17 go online for schoolwork. They also use it for music, movies, video games, and entertainment. Of course, some are emailing and chatting too. On the whole, the study concluded that they balance their internet use reasonably well.
Canadians scope out jobs, homes on-line: Study Globe Technology (Sept 15) Ipsos-Reid study found that Canadians use the internet to do online banking, look for jobs, look for houses. Doesn't sound like they are having much fun.
Macleans.ca has a Book Section with interviews, reviews, profiles. http://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/index.jsp
Also check the Globe and Mail's book section and its book club. But because the Globe changes content often and doesn't provide an archive, use a web page monitor (such as Trackengine.com or Watchthatpage.com) to learn about new titles.
Jack Kapica commented on the new portal sites for Rogers and Sympatico users in What's behind Roghoo and Sympasoft? Globe and Mail (Aug 25) He has several reasons to grumble. For example, both have become more American in content through Sympatico's partnership with MSN, and Rogers with Yahoo. Both are less than fully honest with their customers about services and intentions. Sympatico is IE-centric - thanks to the MSN partnership.
There has veen at least one response. Gary Anderson of Bell Canada answered with Here's what's behind Sympasoft... (Sept 8) in which he claimed Sympatico has a "wealth" of Canadian sources and listed the Globe and Mail. Where exactly is that? Not on the content listing I see.
Kapica is right to talk about "missteps, crossed wires and poor PR".
Andrew Goodman hits the nail on the head about e-commerce in Canada -- he would buy online if he could. It's faster and easier than driving to the mall. But if you are outside the United States, the shipping and customs costs are monstrous. When will the shopping engines figure out that people can't buy if no one will ship to them? Tall Orders from North of the Border Traffick.com (Sep 8)
When understanding lags behind technology By Peter de Jager. Special to Globe and Mail Update (Sep 1) Comments on the implications of the judgement by the Federal Court of Canada to dismiss the Canadian Recording Industry of Canada's (CRIA's) motion to get Internet Service Providers to divulge the identities behind P2P networks that share music over the Internet. Says that Copyright law today can't handle Copyoften, Copyfree and Copyeasy.
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Websearchguide Canada is written by Gwen Harris as a current awareness service about Canadian web search news. It is a companion to the Websearchguide tutorials and the online courses Gwen teaches.
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