Monthly Archives: February 2004

The Jetsons, and the Wave of the Future

Peter Wilson, the Vancouver Sun’s ‘go to’ tech guy has written an intriguing article in today’s edition of the newspaper, portending the very near future. Brought to you, of course, by Microsoft.
Meanwhile, in their Circuits section published today, the New York Times weighs in on the subject of the ‘digital future’ in this article about digital lifestyle, and in Katie Hafner’s piece on the TiVo remote control. Although neither of the Times’ articles are either as engaging or accessible as Wilson’s piece, they’re worth checking out.

Fresh and innovative

From time to time, VanRamblings will add links to Net-based radio stations.
One of my favourite radio outlets at present — the number one FM station in Europe, and currently the most popular radio station broadcasting on the Net — is Glasgow’s The Beat 106, who present the brightest amalgam of dance beat music available anywhere on the planet.
If you ever find yourself feeling a bit blue, the best pick-me-up that I know of is a listen to The Beat’s morning team, Paul, Des and Babs (available from 10 p.m. til 1 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, which is 6 a.m. til 9 a.m. Scottish time). Together, these three have fashioned one of the most stimulating and energetic morning radio programmes I’ve heard in years.
Where to find The Beat? Click here for a listen.

Budget-Crunch Justice

Read news stories, each week, that you won’t read anywhere else, by surfing to The Tyee, British Columbia’s “feisty online” presence.
This week there’s one story (well, two, actually) of which to take note.
Chris Tenove’s penetrating interview with B.C. Attorney-General Geoff Plant on the provincial government’s rationale for the deep cuts to Legal-Aid that were introduced in the first year of the Liberal government’s mandate, and the follow-up human interest story on the troubling consequences of those cuts, constitute must reading for anyone concerned about the actions of the provincial government these past 32 months.
Take particular note of the comments published by readers, following both the text of Tenove’s interview, and the follow-up story on the impact of B.C’s Legal-Aid cuts.