A friend posted this link on Facebook. This article from the BBC highlights the impressions of a teen when he trades in his iPod for a Walkman for one week. It’s pretty funny to read for anyone that grew up with these in the 80s.

I was looking at the Rogers Internet plans today and realized that both the $60 Extreme and $47 Express service are now 10Mbps. The only differences are upload speed (1Mbps vs. 0.5Mbps) and bandwidth cap (95GB vs. 60GB).

I’m not much of an uploader and I’ve never downloaded more than 60GB, so it was an easy way to save $156 a year.

This two-part video, in German, compares the two cars head-to-head, which are priced almost exactly the same in Europe:
Part 1:

Part 2:

With the threat of the strike now over, we can resume our normal alcohol-binging habits. This weekend the following wines were highlighted from the June 24 release. Remember all the wines in the release can be found on the LCBO website.

• Weingut Bründlmayer Alte Reben Grüner Veltliner 2006, Kamptal, Austria $44.00
• Jermann Chardonnay 2007, Friuli, Italy $29.00
• Achaval-Ferrer Quimera 2006, Mendoza, Argentina $55.00
• Domaine De Pallus Les Pensées De Pallus Chinon 2006, Loire, France $29.00
• Brancaia Chianti Classico 2006, Tuscany, Italy $39.00
• Hermanos Peciña Vendimia Seleccionada Reserva 2001, Rioja, Spain $54.00

The blogs have been noticing the switch in Apple’s references to their latest smartphone. Instead of the “iPhone 3G S” they used during launch, the nomenclature has recently been changing to “iPhone 3GS”. It’s a small change, but somewhat significant. Why would Apple make a major change to the naming of a product after it’s launch? My theory is this: Google.

Search engines work by using search terms. And by using Google to search without a space is a much more specific search and brings up more accurate references to the proper phone. Search for “3G S” and the results will include references to both the old version and the new version. The fact that Apple’s site is slowly reverting to the search friendly term on their own website seems to indicate a recent change has happened regarding the branding.

The better thing to do would have been to create a new name entirely, dropping the 3G or adding a word to it. But we’re stuck with it now. Or at least until next July when iPhone 4.0 comes out.

The New York Times created an interactive map that shows what cars are Made in the USA. Fortunately, they also list models made in Canada and Mexico, seperately. For the cars made in the US, they list where then engines and transmissions come from, because many plants only do final assembly in the States.

If you are taking advantage of the strong Canadian dollar. By buying a car made in the USA, Canada or Mexico, you will save yourself paying duty at the border. There’s even some BMW’s, Mercedes and VW’s made in the USA now.

Support your local economy by buying cars made in Canada. I’ve listed them below:

• Acura MDX
• Chevrolet Camaro
• Chevrolet Impala
• Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid
• Chrysler 300
• Chrysler Town & Country
• Dodge Challenger
• Dodge Charger
• Dodge Grand Caravan
• Ford Crown Victoria
• Ford Edge
• Ford Flex
• GMC Sierra Hybrid
• Lexus RX 350
• Lincoln MKX
• Lincoln Town Car
• Mercury Grand Marquis
• Pontiac G6
• Toyota Corolla
• Toyota Matrix
• Toyota RAV4
• Suzuki XL7
• Honda Civic sedan and coupe
• Honda Civic Si
• Volkswagen Routan

I’ve had this lens since it became available in stores in March. It really is an indispensable lens for the DX-frame crowd. So if you have any Nikon in the D40, D50, D70-D90 family, definitely get this lens. It will be a great beginner lens to step up to once you become used to using the kit lens that comes with most Nikon SLR’s.

Quite simpy, this lens offers great low light shooting – the f1.8 aperature, combined with the great low-light performance of SLR’s really bring out low light pictures without a lot of sensor noise. You won’t have to explore the limits of high ISO settings with this lens. As well, when the lens is used between f4 and f8, it’s incredibly sharp. When mounted on a tripod and focused on a stationary object, prepare to get some of the clearest pictures you can get.

Best of all, it’s inexpensive. I lost my original lens (don’t ask) and picked up a replacement today for only $259.

What could you possibly do to make the R8 a better car? How about putting a 520hp V10 instead of the 420hp V8? Well here it is, and it’s coming to Canada. I snapped a shot of this white one while drooling over it at Agincourt Autohaus.

Boy Genius Reports, again the best blog for mobile news, is quoting the following Rogers text about upgrading if you bought an iPhone last year:

There has been a lot of excitement around the new iPhone 3G S and we wanted to recognize the early adopters who helped make the iPhone the hottest-selling handset in Canadian wireless history. We will be discounting the price of the iPhone 3G S by between $250 and $500 to provide savings to many of our iPhone customers.

What this means is that eligible iPhone owners can acquire the iPhone 16GB 3G S for as low as $199 or the 32GB for as low as $299 until July 31, 2009.

For Fido customers, we’re offering the Fido Rewards iPhone 3G S promotion. This enables iPhone customers to redeem FidoDollars towards a new iPhone 3G S with an additional $100 top-up from Fido.

For customers who don’t qualify for these extra savings, we are pleased to offer Rogers Wireless customers the iPhone at our cost on rogers.com. This cost – $580 for the iPhone 3G, $680 for the iPhone 3G S 16GB and $780 for the iPhone 3G S 32GB – represents the price we pay for the device plus a nominal fee for the SIM card. Customers can access these devices at retail locations for just $19 more for the three devices.

We’re also happy to announce that Rogers and Fido are extending the 6GB/$30 data promotion until July 31. This offer is valid for customers on a new or existing iPhone plan or customers buying an Android-powered HTC Magic or HTC Dream.

Five ways to save

1) For Rogers Wireless customers who bought an iPhone 3G between July 11 and Sept. 30, 2008, and with an average monthly spend of at least $100, Rogers will provide $500 off the cost of an iPhone 3G S. This special offer expires July 31, 2009 and comes with the addition of a one-year term to the customer’s existing service agreement.

·      16GB 3GS $199
·      32GB 3GS $299

2) For Rogers Wireless customers who bought an iPhone between July 11 and Dec. 31, 2008, but aren’t eligible for the above offer, Rogers will provide $250 dollars off the purchase of an iPhone 3G S. This special offer expires July 31, 2009 and comes with the addition of a one-year term to the customer’s existing service agreement.

·      16GB 3GS $449
·      32GB 3GS $549

3) All Rogers Wireless customers can upgrade to the iPhone 3GS at our cost at Rogers.com, or for a suggested retail price of just $19 more than our cost through our retail channels.

·      8GB 3G $580/$599
·      16GB 3GS $680/$699
·      32GB 3GS $780/$799

4) Fido customers can take advantage of the Fido Rewards iPhone 3G S promotion:
·      Use FidoDollars towards the purchase of a new iPhone 3G S
·      Fido will top up the FidoDollars amount by $100
·      This promotion does not include an extension or renewal of their service agreement.

5) New and existing iPhone customers can take advantage of a limited-time promotion of 6GB of data for $30, now extended until July 31. Other Rogers and Fido data plans will remain the same, including the only national standalone data plan at $25 per month for 500 MB. We know that this is the right plan for most Canadians – 93 per cent of current iPhone customers on a data plan use less than 500 MB of data per month.

One of my favorite mobile blogs, Boy Genius Reports, just found out the non-contract price of the new iPhone 3G S.

• $799 32gb
• $699 16gb

Those of you that committed to 3 year contracts for the iPhone 3G better save your pennies.