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Overachieve as an underdog

Habs fans rejoice. The unthinkable has happened – well at least from a skeptic’s point of view. In case you haven’t heard already, the Montreal Canadiens completed a remarkable comeback, defeating the top seeded Washington Capitals in the seventh and deciding game of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals last night. Down three games to one a week ago, it looked as though the Canadiens would be joining their arch rival Maple Leafs on the golf course sooner rather than later. In dramatic fashion though, goaltender Jaroslav Halak and the Canadiens crawled back, despite the nay-sayer’s predictions, and ended Alexander Ovechkin’s and the Capital’s hopes of winning the Stanley Cup. [...]

Planet of the apps

Google, the multinational Internet technology powerhouse that single handedly transformed online advertising and revolutionized the search engine as we know it, may be in fact eroding from the inside out. In recent years, Google has branched out and expanded at a rate that makes Dubai look conservative. Their focus has shifted from the search engine that started it all, to an aggressive mandate of acquiring a new company each month in 2010. By no means is Google going down anytime soon – far from it – however, their iconic search engine is maturing in a market that is being conquered by young, sophisticated, digital natives who demand information immediately. Pages of blue text linked to potentially accurate information are becoming passé. So what’s next for the search engine? [...]

Is the one-stop-shop a one-hit-wonder?

Canada’s largest retailer, Canadian Tire, made headlines last week, as it announced it was going to go back-to-basics by focusing on its core business – tires. For CT traditionalists and handymen alike, this is a move that is long overdue. In recent years, it seemed as though the retailer had lost touch with its consumers, as scented candles, picture frames, and electronics became increasingly prominent within store walls. CT even expanded into banking, insurance, and stocking low-margin food such as bread. Surprising? Slightly. Over the past decade, stores boasting the “one-stop-shop” designation have transformed retail significantly, but is it just a multi-billion-dollar trend, or are they here to stay? [...]

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Trampoline weighs in on the iPad

See what our staff has to say about the iPad. Read more to view video. [...]

TV: Back to the Future

Last week, researchers confirmed that the tides are officially changing in the television world. A poll conducted by Iposos Reid concluded that, for the first time, Canadians are spending more time on the Internet than they are watching television. Surprised? Me either. However, it does raise the question: what’s next for the traditional medium? [...]

“The most transformative thing we’ve ever done for the web”

At the start of today’s f8 keynote, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg said that today’s announcements are going to be the “most transformative thing we’ve ever done for the web.” And I fully agree with him. Thanks to Facebook’s new technologies, social media will soon no longer be part of the Internet… it will simply become the Internet. [...]

The Motorola of 2010

The iPad – yes, this is another blog about the device – launched in the U.S. last Saturday. For the layperson, this isn’t significant, but for the iPerson, this is monumental, but what’s the big deal? Should there be all this fuss over an oversized iPod touch? Do people even need another screen to consume themselves with? Frankly, I’m not too sure myself, but what I do know, is that if anybody can “revolutionize” an entire industry single handedly, Apple is the one to do it. However, will they succeed with turning the general store into the App Store? Will the bookstore be replaced by the iBook Store? Or in a broader sense, will the tablet be the next compulsory digital product – the cell phone of the 2010’s if you will? Well I can’t read a crystal ball, but I can do my best to read the writing on the wall. [...]

The Sage of Persuasion: Part III

[Organ music swelling] Last time on Sage of Persuasion:

Trivia: One artist who has capitalized off tying his music to particular brands is the artist Moby. Apparently, creativity runs in his family. Which famous author is he related to?

Answer: Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick [...]

I’m mad at HRM and I’m not going to take it anymore

I had to get this down quick because I think we’ve reached a watershed moment. I must plead ignorance, yet again, about the whole city amalgamation since I did not live here when it happened. But all I know is that 10 years into it the only legacy that I see from this myopic spreadsheet vision is Peter Kelly, half-shoveled sidewalks and the no-name HRM. By this measure, even if you’re a PK fan, the experiment has been a colossal failure. [...]