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12.29.10: We have seen this approach in movies and it's about time it became more main-stream in this technological world we now live in. Certainly does allow us to absorb a lot of information quickly.
This world health change visualization, at first glance, indicates great world-wide health improvement in the last 200 years.
On the other hand, from a futures perspective, it looks like trouble ahead ... can our world handle this speed of increased life expectancy with growing populations in the next 200 years?
Also, if you noticed, average income in China and India, in the last 30 years, is increasing more quickly than the industrialized countries - cost of labour intensive goods will increase.
However, knowing this should allow us to create near future opportunities from future problems.
For instance, this xmas season saw emphasis on shipping (online purchases).
Larger populations mean more customers. But manual shopping is becoming more difficult due to time to purchase. More people will shop online which mean more shipping ... maybe time to invest in the shipping industry as well as companies who emphasize online shopping. eBay saw this quite a while ago. Companies like Walmart and BestBuy haven't picked up on this yet.
All this, and much more, from a single YouTube presentation...
16.01.08: Our Rogers deal expired in December and I looked forward to 'discussing' options again with Rogers.
Our December bill showed about 8 discounted things would be no longer discounted ... raising the bill by about $100/mo.
In recent months, I have noticed nothing (other than a few sports and news channels) worth watching. Apple TV seemed to be satisfactory for grandchildren and nothing on the HBO or specialty channels were of interest.
I decided to reduce TV to a minimum and reduce Internet somewhat and home phone cell phones could remain the same. I would like to get rid of home phone but Helen wants it.
I reviewed Rogers bundles and Bell Fibe bundle prices for comparable services and noticed prices were only slightly less ... not worth the extra effort unless Rogers were unwilling to compromise for a long term customer.
I made the Rogers call on January 4th.
Just as I was beginning the conversation, I decided (to keep it simple) to request they do whatever is necessary to reduce our monthly bill.
After an initial discussion, I was asked to hold while they discussed with another group (discovered later, it was the loyalty group).
More discussion occurred with me and the loyalty person and they did a few things i agreed with and indicated I would be charges about $15 less than the November bill ... and be given a new modem.
Skeptical as I am with Rogers promises, I then waited a day to see what channels I would no longer be receiving.
Now, a few of days later, I have noticed no change in the channels and Internet speed the same or better.
Once, again, active/firm discussion with Rogers support appears to have paid off (for another 2 years).
As I mentioned, thy provided a new modem which took a little time to install as their instructions were wrong.
As some of you do, we use a wireless router attached to the Rogers modem. Initially, I just replaced the old Rogers modem with the new Hitron modem (CGN2-ROG) and tested the speed with speedtest.net and noticed acceptable speed.
I then switched the PC network to access the Hitron modem instead of our router and saw much increased speed.
I then switched my smartphone to the 5G wi-fi network that was presented under wi-fi settings, and received even faster speed.
If you switch Rogers modems and want help, give me a call.
If you want to discuss how to deal with Rogers to reduce your bill, give me a call.
13.12.11: Called Bell to cancel the service and they tried to sell me on better Internet speed using fiber optics (fast is fast - no sell) and better phone line quality (analog better than digital - no sell) and would not lower the price further. They were very polite in canceling the install.
As you can see from the blog response below, perhaps I could have pushed Rogers for more. Next time...
10.11.12 - Well, it is that time again ... put one against the other for the best Internet rate.
I must admit, it isn't something i would undertake if i wasn't retired.
However, it is worth the effort, if you have the patience, to see how good a deal you can get.
Bottom line - I got more capacity, faster speed, at less cost!
To set the stage:
I did this last year and ended up staying with Rogers as Bell wouldn't do better.
I first called Bell and hassled them for a better rate than what Rogers was providing. They indicated the best rate would happen if I included home phone (which would be completely transparent - same phone number and options).
What Happened:
This time, it appears Bell is willing to negotiate. Provided i agreed to include home phone, i got:
- 20% increase in Internet access speed (12Mbps),
- 25% increase in Internet download data per month,
- and reduced my monthly Internet charge by %15.
So I signed up.
Not Finished Yet:
Then I called Rogers and told them I was going to Bell because they were giving me a better rate and more capacity ... fully expecting Rogers to say they wouldn't better it.
To my surprise, Rogers, without any discussion, gave me:
- a new modem for no rental fee for 12 months ($7/mo thereafter),
- increase my speed 50% (10Mbps to 15Mbps),
- increased my download capacity 33% (80GBs), and reduce my Rogers Internet charge by 30%.
I have set up and tried the faster Rogers service (actual speed is over 20Mbps - and it is quite noticeable) and now have 80GBs of storage (I do download a lot of movies).
Good thing i am retired and have the time to play...
12.13.10 - Accessed my account at PowerStream and checked the data. See daily usage below.
12.09.10 - In the Toronto Star today.
Now that we are on smart meters, we need to know our current usage (just as we do for Internet usage).
What better way is there to determine the savings generated by less electricity for specific household activities and uses.
I should be able to determine cost of leaving my computer running and we should be able to see cost of running the clothes washer and dishwasher during the normal times of the week-day vs week-ends.
As you would expect, Hydro One is NOT up-to-date yet. Their 'smart' system is not really smart ... yet.
However, they expect to have up-to-the minute consumer data soon. Stay tuned!
For now, PowerStream (Markham) has the same data for their customers (previous day) and it is quite useful. Sign in to PowerStream and look for "Smart Meter Electricity Consumption".
Here is our hourly usage 12/09 and it appears quite high at 10am and 9pm, as with other days. We will need to keep track of what we do at those times, as we are not sure right now.
I would expect to be able to adjust my home hydro usage from my iPhone, while skiing in Whistler ... very soon ...
Hydro One and PowerStream have an Internet application that will present all your DAY OLD usage data.
12.29.10: We have seen this approach in movies and it's about time it became more main-stream in this technological world we now live in. Certainly does allow us to absorb a lot of information quickly.
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