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Following all the 2010 Olympic action

B Matt B — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:43:28 +0000

The CTV Olympic Consortium (disclosure – I work for CTV) has really gone above and beyond in their coverage of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. So much so that even the New York Times has noticed in a recent article:

“Everything live,” he said. “Watch what you want, when you want, how you want, and provide experience on TV, V.O.D., online, mobile and in theaters. We’ve combined the live component Canadians are familiar with from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation with NBC’s high production level.”…

“People shouldn’t have to change their media consumption experience,” he said. “So if you get your entertainment through Xbox, iTunes, online, radio, TV — go ahead. If the audience is there, let’s make it easier. Fish where the fish are.”

This is an amazing, revolutionary attitude that the Olympic Consortium has taken with this, and from the calibre of my co-workers that have been tasked to execute this, I can’t help but be excited about these Games.
You can check out the Olympic content here:

ctvolympics.ca
CTVOlympics Youtube page

Check out the widget below:

Mesh 08 – Day 1

Microsoft makes things very hard sometimes.

B Matt B — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:00:22 +0000

I have to admit, after years of using Microsoft’s Windows XP on my home network, and hearing the online complaints of the Vista crowd, I was reluctant to make the switch over to Windows 7. Lack of product support from Microsoft for XP ensured that using it on a new machine wasn’t a viable option anymore, even if it still is a “great” OS. And by “great” I mean that it usually won’t crash when I try to print something or use the Internet. So eventually, I downloaded and installed the beta (test) version of Windows called Release Candidate – and a funny thing happened: I LOVED IT! Amazing! So Intuitive! Pretty! I could go on and on about how much I like it, and there are a lot of others who agree with me.

A couple of months went by, and Windows 7 Release Candidate became Windows 7 RTM (Released to Manufacturing). Luckily for Microsoft, it did get very good reviews, many users installed it and it is slowly gaining ground in OS usage share – awesome. Unfortunately for me, the beta version which was provided to me free by Microsoft, is no longer being updated. In order to ensure the Release Candidate users upgrade to the supported and not as free RTM version, Microsoft built in a weird ticking time bomb.

Beginning on March 1, 2010, the operating system will begin shutting down every two hours. If you’re using one of the beta versions of Windows 7, the hourly shutdown game starts much sooner, on July 1, 2009. – dvice.com

I hope there isn’t any IT managers who installed the RC on critical systems, or there is going to be problems on March 1! Anyways, before that happens, I will now need to update the Operating System on my computer before this date to avoid any problems. Running three systems here at home meant that I was pretty happy to hear about Microsoft offering a Family pack

The Windows 7 Family Pack will be available starting on October 22nd until supplies last here in the US and other select markets. In the US, the price for the Windows 7 Family Pack will be $149.99 for 3 Windows 7 Home Premium licenses. That’s a savings of more than $200 for three licenses. This is a great value and we’re excited to be able to offer it to customers. – Windows 7 Team Blog

Luckily, this offer is still being offered from Microsoft’s website to us here in Canada as seen in this screenshot actually less than mentioned above.

Oh Canada! Pay only $200 when you buy Windows 7 for the whole family!

This being 2009, I know that Microsoft has enabled digital download from their store, which is the option I want as I know that it’s going to be the quickest, and there is the additional advantage of the downloads smaller environmental footprint – “Research highlights environmentally friendly nature of digital music distribution” – via gizMag. Okay, where do I do that, let’s look closely at the offer page and suddenly things start to get confusing. I don’t want to use the participating retailers listed who cannot provide the download anyways, and I thought that Microsoft made a download version available. I don’t see any alternatives to retailers such as Future Shop and Best Buy listed. It’s not until I twirl down the FAQ content directly beneath the details that I notice it say that the offer is available “from participating retailers or the Microsoft Store” Hmm… no link. Don’t they want me to buy this shit?

Available at these fine retailers.... and the Microsoft Store.

Okay, I search for the store within Microsoft’s site, and after locating that I then search for the Family pack, with no luck. That’s weird, maybe it’s because the Store doesn’t know I’m a Canadian. You see, by now I have realized that this amazing pricing on the Windows 7 Family Pack is no longer being offered in the US. I log into the Store using my Windows Live ID, which definitely has me down as a Canadian, and try searching the site again, again with no luck. I notice in the bottom footer of the page a country drop down and think “A-ha, here we go, switch this to Canada, do the search again and the offer will pop up!” When I click the drop down to see the following I am blown away:

The Belgians get it all.

I’m really starting to think that Microsoft doesn’t want me to digitally download the Windows 7 Family Pack. At this point, I’m getting pretty frustrated, and instead of buying the Family Pack, I’m beginning to think that perhaps that 2010 is the year of Ubuntu. Microsoft is making it way too hard for me to spend money on their product, and now I just really want to vent some of my frustration on them, so I click the Contact Us link.

It seems so easy. Just tell us your problems.

The Microsoft Store Contact Us Email Form

Aargh.

Do you remember Napster?

Honeymoon Photos Part 9 – Paris – Two Amazing Nights

B Matt B — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:23:43 +0000

On our last weekend in Paris, our friends Kris and Bebe met us for a couple of unforgettable nights. The first night was incredible, starting with a sunset dinner on the Eiffel tower, followed by a cruise down the Siene river, topped off with the show at Moulin Rouge. There are no pictures of the last part, as staff from the theatre firmly insist that all patrons with cameras check them, which makes sense as the show does feature many topless dancers. We ended the night with a nightcap at Kris and Bebe’s place and Lauren and I walked home. We tried to get a cab, but after seeing a cab driver get out of his car and actually begin to strangle some guy, we thought better of it. Kris has posted some video on Facebook of the evening as well – here, and here.

The next day Kris and I wandered around Paris, getting lost, and hung out on the lawn of the Louvre while the girls shopped, of course. The second night was also a show stopper, as we went to La Taverne Kronenberg for dinner. Unfortunately, it had been the victim of a fire in the dining room earlier in the week, so we were unable to eat there, but found an amazing second choice right up street. The dinner was fantastic, doubly so as we were able to share it with good friends.

All pictures by Lauren and myself.

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Honeymoon Photos Part 8 – Paris – Churches

B Matt B — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:26:06 +0000

While in Paris, Lauren and I had the opportunity to see three different cathedrals, each with a different look and feel. The first one, St. Eusatche, we wandered into accidentally, and quite luckily, as we found out about an organ concert that was occuring two days later, which we subsequently attended. The second church was Notre Dame, which although beautiful, was not as impressive as St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta. Finally, we went to Montmarte and visited the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur.

All photos by Matt and Lauren

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Honeymoon Photos Part 7 – Paris – The City

B Matt B — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:30:31 +0000

For me the highlight of Paris was the architecture. The buildings of Paris are a feast for the eyes, and the attention to detail is like nothing I have ever seen in Canada. Here are some of the highlights of our many expeditions across the city.

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Honeymoon Photos Part 5 – Malta – Reception

B Matt B — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:46:23 +0000

On Saturday September 9, 2009, my mother in law Helen Anastasi hosted a reception for Lauren and myself at Aunt Carmen’s place. I got the opportunity to meet a lot of Lauren’s family and friends of the family. Once again I was shown that the Maltese people are among the nicest in the world, and all made me feel welcome, especially Uncle Louis!

Here are the photos from our reception in Malta.

All photos B. Matt, Lauren and Elton.

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Honeymoon Photos Part 6 – Paris – Arc de Triomphe

B Matt B — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:39:51 +0000

After Malta, Lauren and I flew to Paris, where we stayed for the next eight days. While there we stayed at Studio La Fontaine, which was an amazing flat that was centrally located, clean and had all the amenities we required. I wasn’t prepared for the architectural beauty that is Paris. To me, it seemed that every building in the city was either three hundred years old, topped with amazing embelleshments, of a huge historical importance, or all three.

Our first full day in Paris, we decided to see the Arc de Triomphe and take a walk down the Champs-Élysées.

All photos by Lauren and B. Matt

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Honeymoon Photos Part 4 – Malta – snaps

B Matt B — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:22:07 +0000

Here is an assortment of shots from our trip to Malta.

All photos by Lauren and B. Matt

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Honeymoon Photos Part 3 – Malta – St. John’s Co-Cathedral

B Matt B — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:46:42 +0000

One of the jewels of the main city of Valletta, Malta is the St. John’s Co-Cathedral, built by the Knights of Malta between 1573 and 1578. From the outside, it’s a rather austere, sollemn looking building, and it reminds you more of a fortress than a church, which makes sense considering who built it. Once you enter, it’s another world, breathtakingly ornate. The cathedral contains eight side chapels, each dedicated to the patron saint of the eight langues (or chapters) of the Knights. Additionally, the floors of the church are composed of the marble tombstones of the Knights themselves, and are truly beautiful. The church holds one of Caravaggio’s masterpieces, the painting (which I wasn’t permitted to photograph) The Beheading of Saint John and a collection of huge tapestries that are also well worth a look.

If you are ever in Valletta, do not miss the opportunity to visit the cathedral.

All photos taken by Lauren & B. Matt

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Honeymoon Photos – Part 2 – Malta – The Island

B Matt B — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:08:48 +0000

After our four days in Amsterdam, Lauren and I flew to Malta. We stayed at Auntie Carmen’s place, in Birzebbuga, by the ocean. For the next seven days we explored the entire island, and also went to both Comino and Gozo, two smaller islands nearby. The main island is easily covered in a bus in less than an hour, and trips to the main city of Valletta were eye opening. The city was built as a fortress by the Knights of Saint John in 1566, and the watchtowers, walls and forts make it imposing.

Here is my photo-set concentrating on the sights of Malta, all photos taken by Lauren or myself.

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