Music Technology

Canada Post – A Search For Relevance

Now that the strike is over letters and parcels are now being sorted; And everyone involved has clearly stated delays are to be expected, especially for rural communities.

Unfortunately, I don’t see how they could possibly get through it all without delivering letters and parcels this weekend, or at least make some of it available for pick-up at the commercial post offices. But the delivery of parcels to homes on the weekend would not likely be a long term solution.

I suspect the preferable response would be like that of the locker system like found at the larger Canadian Tire stores, where one can use a bar code to unlock a locker containing their parcel(s) at their local Post Office. And I guess some of the empty post office boxes could be adapted to provide that service for smaller parcels.

At the moment I can only pick up parcels at my local post office if I rent a post office box or use FlexDelivery, a service also offered by Amazon Canada and Walmart Canada that diverts parcels to my local post office. But I believe most parcels may not be delivered to the commercial post offices on weekends, and rural post offices are usually also closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

The new community hubs also offer limited services on weekends, which is a shame because parcels could also be delivered to those on Saturdays. But the looming deficits are hindering investment in new infrastructure, which may be necessary for the corporation’s survival.

Small businesses in Canada suffer because they lack access to affordable shipping, including most Canadian sellers on eBay, and there can only be so many conventions and pop up shops through-out the year to help them sell their merchandise, so we’re talking about a major crisis.

Last mile postal deliveries are also an issue for postal imports and everyone that has ever imported something using a courier service knows how expensive their brokerage fees can get ; I’ve actually paid fees surpassing the value of the product imported and the $20 postal import exemption is of little value now because of inflation.

I’m surprised the new trade free trade agreement in-between Canada, the United States and Mexico didn’t include a higher exemption rate, which should have been $60 (like the current rate on gift shipments). But that’s a subject for another post…

The ship has sailed when it comes to personal and commercial letter mail, so Canada Post needs to expand to remain relevant. And that can’t be done without major investment from the government.

Satellite internet should be a priority for the more remote rural offices, with long range wi-fi retransmission, as should the expansion of the community hubs. And that wont be cheap…

Streaming Service Specials

Prime members at Amazon Canada that watch Prime Video will probably notice that heavily discounted subscriptions are now being offered to them.

I just subscribed to Britbox for $2.75 a month for two month, which will go up to $10.99 a month when these two months are over. And this two month 75% discount offer is also available for Crave, Stack TV, AMC, TSN, RDS, Starz, Crushyroll, Super Channel, MGM+, Telethon+, AcornTV, AllBLK, Stingray, The Great Courses Signature Collection, BBC, PBS Masterpiece, PBS Documentaries, Family TV, Teletoon+, Shudder, BBC Earth, Love Nature, OutTV and Smithsonian Channel.

A three month offer is available for Paramount+ at $5.49/month and $19.99/month afterwards and all of these offers expire on December 2nd, 2024.

Prime Day Is Coming (July 16th-17th)

I believe an offer for a free 30 day Amazon Prime membership should be available to new members at Amazon.ca today, the 15th of July, 2024. And Prime Student is also available free for six months for students aged 19 to 24, with a special deal for students in the province of Quebec.

Prime Members who also like to stream music also have an option for Amazon Music Unlimited, which will be free for 5 months instead of one until the end of Prime Day, or 3 months for free for individuals that aren’t subscribe to Amazon Prime.

The Sad State of Canadian Media

Today I learned from Ottawa radio personalities Stuntman Stu and Angie Poirier what fans of 45 radio stations across Canada have also learned from their local radio personalities, that Canadian radio is not teetering on the edge but has pretty much been toppled by other media.

These are 45 out of 103 Bell Media owned stations that are being sold and only the latest cuts in the company, which cut 9% of their work force and some local news programming recently, including the noon broadcast of CTV News here in Ottawa.

People in the industry in Ottawa were concerned after Bell Media had applied to have their commitment to local television reduced with the CRTC in June 2023, days before a massive 1300 in lay-off in the middle of the month and weeks before when two major CTV News personalities, Leanna Cusack and Joel Haslam had retired in July 2023.

All is not well with Bell Media yet people are still acting like we are in the states and have access to a sustainable amount of viewers, when American radio has their own issues according to Pew Research.

So, what will happen if no buyers are found for these stations? Will smaller, remote communities without high speed internet become dead zones? Will larger stations simply become re-transmitters for American programming?

“Tough luck” is not actually a response, especially in communities where print has disappeared, where small business advertisements, local events and important municipal, provincial and federal government information have no venue. But unfortunately this dismissiveness is being heavily promoted by American propagandists on social media, who want to control this nation’s media.

I guess some people have forgotten that weather radio is being decommissioned in many communities in Canada and that cell coverage fails during some weather emergencies, as well as internet access.

Television and radio are the more reliable information sources outside of the urban centres and suburban communities. And it’s time to stop listening to the ought-is.

Various Offers

Now that Prime Day is over, you should know that Apple has several offers going with PC Optimum and Pepsico.

You can now obtain 5000 bonus PC Points when you purchase $50 Apple gift cards at participating Real Atlantic Superstores and Real Canadian Superstores until Wednesday, the 19th of July 2023. And yes, you can purchase up to ten $50 cards for a maximum bonus of 50,000. Click here for details.

Pepsi drinkers will also notice that specially marked bottles of their favourite drink feature an offer for up to three months of Apple Music for free. But there’s no need to look for an empty bottle for the QR code to participate because this QR code and details on the offer and summer contest are available by clicking here.

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New Offer From PC Optimum and Apple

Have you ever wanted to try out Apple TV, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness or Apple News? Then you should note that PC Optimum members who are not currently subscribed to these services can get a 90 day subscription for free.

To obtain more information and to claim this offer, go to PC Optimum’s offer page. And note that the 15,000 Optimum point bonus offer on $100 One 4 All gift cards, which can be redeemed at The Source, Indigo and Staples stores, will expire tomorrow.

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