Canada’s Wireless Code and The Podcast Patent

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Bunker Project Episode 143

Bunker Mavens in attendance:

Bonnie Sainsbury @bsainsbury
Margaret Reynolds @bc_insurancega
lAndrew McGivern @podcasthero
Bob Garlick @bobgarlick
Paul @nozipaul
Randall Orser @numbercrunchers
Ian Nethercott @lovebuyingcars
Maryln Anderson @mande2
Marcel Lapointe @ unknown
Sanj Sukerkar @genesysdesigns
Ken McGrath @kenamcg
James Karg @twisted_majic

Listen to the episode and read the full show notes to get all the details.

Show 143

Voicemail feedback from…. NORM!!!

• Norm was checking out our show notes and saw some interesting points. He thinks patent trolls suck and they are the scum of the earth. He said Apple doesn’t seem to be leaders anymore and appear to be laggers. He asks James when will XBox be the complete box and replace the home computer.
Conspiracy Talk
• The words the NSA is scanning for include Terrorist, Bomb and Social Media – wtf?
• Bob said back in 1972 we lost our privacy… people who are complaining now are too late.
• Prism – a special folder that is only accessible by the government. The government requests information and the corporation copies the info into the folder.
• Margaret says the government doesn’t have the resources to monitor everybody and scan everyone’s info. Ian disagrees.
• Bonnie said if your bad guy doesn’t be good at SEO.
• Andrew doesn’t think Prism is a bad idea in and of itself but the problem is that the government can arbitrarily get information about people without reasonable suspicion.
• Bob said the police can take data from your smartphone when they pull you over.
• We talk about cell phone companies and if they store people’s information.
• The NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden is hiding out in Hong Kong.
• Bonnie said nobody cares about their privacy and government monitoring.
• Andrew mentions the new Consumer Protection Act which allows seizure of private property without court oversight.
• Paul brings up Google and other corporations being just as bad as the government.
The Comprehensive Beer Tasting Workout
http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/beer-tasting-workout
• Great article about how to improve your pallet for hops, malt, etc.
• Andrew says you don’t have to do all these exercises to know that Brewmaster Black from Okanagan Springs.
Good News on the Podcast Patent
• Andrew mentions some good progress in the fight against the podcast patent.
• Ian asks if Andrew owns the patent… Andrew says he grabbed a patent that predated Personal Audio’s patent and invalidated it!
• We digress about fiver.com
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation has taken up the fight against Personal Audio LLC.
• They raised the money required to contest the patent within 10 hours. They are going to take the fight directly to the Patent and Trademark Office instead of going to court. They are looking for help in finding ‘prior art’ which predates 1996 showing the concept of podcasting existed before Personal Audio’s claim.
The New iOS
• Andrew said that the new iOS looks good even though they heavily borrow from Android, Windows Phone, and Blackberry.
• James said they should have partnered with other companies instead of competing with Pandora and others.
• James said the only cool thing Apple announced was the Mac Pro.
Some headlines from the Apple Announcements:
“Apples iOS 7 ‘copied’ everyone and that’s a good thing” -some ideas are so good that they should be shared =>Android Central
“Design and Insecurity is back at Apple” =>Tech Crunch
“7 ways Apple Copied Android in iOS7” => Business Insider
iOS 7 gets a UI refresh – proves Android was on the right track =>Android and Me

• Apple is taking out ads to remind people that they are still innovative.
• Is Apple insecure again? Would Steve Jobs be advertising that Apple is innovative?

Social Media #FAIL

Andrew asks how long should a company take to respond to a negative comment on Twitter? Margaret said within a day and Bonnie said it should be within 6 hours.
Andrew says he tweeted about a bad experience with Subeez restaurant in Vancouver and they never replied or responded at all… and it has been weeks.

Andrew has been going to Subeez regularly and ordering fries to go. They always give him little containers of ketchup but this particular time they gave him some squeeze pouches. When he got home he noticed the ketchup didn’t taste right and it turns out that instead of being a bright red colour the ketchup was dark brown and the package expiry date said 2008! Andrew’s pregnant wife brought the Ketchup packages back to Subeez and complained to the manager and asked him to make sure they were all disposed of. His response was… it wasn’t us. We don’t use those ketchup packets. Andrew isn’t surprised by the lack of Social Media response because Subeez changed their menu but didn’t change their online menu for months… they blame it on the web developer who took off Margaret said that is a pet peeve of hers. Never give the keys to your business website to someone else (unless you have them as well).

New Canadian Wireless Code

The wireless code addresses the main frustrations that Canadians shared with the CRTC, which included the length of wireless contracts, cancellation fees, roaming charges and other industry practices. Among other things, individual and small business consumers will be able to:

• terminate their wireless contracts after two years without cancellation fees, even if they have signed on for a longer term
• cap extra data charges at $50/month and international data roaming charges at $100/month to prevent bill shock
• have their cellphones unlocked after 90 days, or immediately if they paid for the device in full
• return their cellphones, within 15 days and specific usage limits, if they are unhappy with their service
• accept or decline changes to the key terms of a fixed-term contract (i.e., 2-year), and
• receive a contract that is easy to read and understand.

We talk about cell phone prices and whether we are paying too much in Canada. Blackberry 10 rules! Call Toll Free 1-877-636-1474 and join the conversation on the show…. Thanks to Okanagan Spring Brewery for sponsoring the show!

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About The Bunker Project

The underground Bunker Project is a meetup focused on Social Media, Internet Marketing, New Media, and Podcasting. Set in the Bunker at the Barklay Hotel on Robson St. in Vancouver, The Bunker Project will appeal to those looking for cutting edge social marketing and new media information and to those who just want to socialize over a beer and exchange thoughts and ideas about social media.

Members will have the opportunity to participate in the Bunker Project Podcast which is recorded live at every meetup.
Hope to see you soon at The Bunker!

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Andrew McGivern & Bob Garlick