Lots of discussion today regarding the weather. Certainly the snow has been accumulating here in Toronto. The shops are quiet, there are hardly any cars on the road, and reports were half the class in school class called in ‘sick’ today.
Much talk of this being a perfect storm….
Meteorology aside… a big snowfall, on a Friday afternoon, before the weekend sounds near perfect to me (….if you are not working or travelling tomorrow that is!).
…….Hot chocolate and tobogganing.
This week was the annual CAGT kick off for the year. As usual it was a panel of leading economists from the large Canadian banks providing their view on the economy for the year.
There was varied opinion across the banks from bullish to bearish regarding growth this year….. with BMO being the most optimistic, CIBC the least, with ScotiaBank somewhere in between.
For me I do enjoy hearing Benjamin Tal speak. Although on the bearish side last night (potential for 15% decrease in house prices in Toronto), it feels he delivers a more unvarnished view ……. we still need to watch the debt load of the Canadian consumer, they are struggling to recover from the spending and borrowing the last couple of years…. also watch for unpredictable, potential external factors such as instability from austerity too.
All said an interesting discussion.
At CES this year Ubuntu have announced a cell phone operating system that allows you to use you phone as a PC and a phone. This is an idea that has been long in coming. For all of us lugging laptops to and from the office everyday this is the solution. And it appears I am not alone.
It has been a problem for most of us for a while, and since the end of the desktop at work we seem to have been tethered to out laptops, never to leave our sight. Every day it seems we are forced to carry out work (and often all our files) to and from the office each day. It is heavy, a strain on the back and not to mention a security risk if our laptop is stolen.
Wouldn’t it be easier to just have one device that holds your files, emails and expands to fully working computer, with keyboard, once connected. This is what they are working on.
It is of course not without issues. For one, what happens if you now lose your phone. A phone is of course smaller and easier to loose (although it does fit in your pocket which your typical laptop does not).
However this is an interesting development. It maybe not Ubuntu, it could be Apple, Microsoft or another that produce this. However I for one am sold on the concept.
(side note, lots of discussion on super HD TV, and also that Apple has peaked and needs a new product… linked no, but don’t be surprised.. if Apple produce a game changing TV, super HD)
