Two Months To Go !
The digital television transition in Canada is two months away.
This means television stations airing in Canada’s major cities will no longer broadcast in analog over the air. But this signal will be replaced by a digital signal that most LCD, LED and plasma televisions are ready to receive via antenna. Most other televisions will require a digital to analog converter box
Of course those of you who subscribe to cable, satellite and IPTV services will not need to do a thing. But on September 1st, 2011 you may have this additional option, depending on where you live.
I’ve dropped my extra outlets and have hooked up several televisions to an antenna, saving $7 in fees per month. And from the information gathered from TV Fool, it appears that I should get all but one or two of my local channels after the transition, which will probably come in if I invest in the Terk antenna
Those who have or are able to erect an antenna outside will probably have the best luck getting the further transmissions. But i’m also considering an attic installation myself, to get all the local stations and possibly PBS from Norwood, NY.
I managed to get the latter with an indoor antenna last summer for a few days and i’m hoping to get it more regularly.
I will of course be doing quite a large amount of experimenting in the last few days of August. But of course it’ll be worth it, just to get off cable.
Postal Services To Resume Tuesday
Canada Post has stated in an email to customers that postal services will be restored Tuesday, the 28th of June, including mail delivery.
“Canada Post has initiated the process to resume operations following the passage of back to work legislation (Bill C-6, An Act to provide for the resumption and continuation of postal services). In accordance with the Act, employees will begin to report to work for their regularly scheduled shifts on Monday June 27 and on Tuesday June 28.”
All of the mailboxes will be unsealed on Monday but local post offices will open on Tuesday.
Postal Update : Back To Work Legislation Passes
Bill C-6, the “Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act“, has passed Parliament. 158 members votes for the bill whilst 113 voted against the bill.
Postal Talks Broken Off
I’ve just received an email from Canada Post, informing me that talks inbetween the Canadian Union Of Postal Workers have broken off.
Sega Pass Hacked
An undisclosed amount of Sega Pass users have had their personal information stolen, along with encrypted password information.
Email addresses and birthdates were compromised and Sega Pass appears to be offline. The incident happened last Thursday but no details in regards to the network’s Canadian users have been published.
Postal Strike Information
It appears that the Conservative government is planning of tabling back to work legislation to end the postal strike that started today.
Canada Post had decided to lock out their employees and now mail service to and from the urban centers has stopped.
Mail is no longer being accepted, collected or distributed in most Canadian cities except for select government issued cheques. But some smaller communities may still recieve mail because their postal services are handled by the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association, thought it should be noted that they will not accept mail from customers.
Canada Post‘s e-Post site is still up and running so you can get your bills from that service or online directly from the businesses you deal with.
BTW, some retailers do offer alternative shipping methods to their Canadian customers.
The following Canadian retailers offer an option to ship to their local stores :
The following Canadian retailers offer courier shipping :
chapters.indigo.ca
(Greater Toronto Area)
Sony Style Canada(Major Cities/By Appointment)
Tigerdirect.ca – FREE SHIPPING* on selected PC Deals at TigerDirect!
Amazon.ca
It should be noted that Amazon.com
They use DHS Global Mail for Standard and Expedited Shipping, and UPS or DHL for Priority Shipping. BUT shipments valued above $20 Canadian may incur importation fees, which in this case would be administed by the courier, in addition to the standard duties and taxes.
International shipments valued at less than $20 are not subject to duties, taxes or importation fees because of the Low Value Shipment (LVS) process at the Canadian Border Services Agency, with some restrictions.
Additional information in regards to the possible alternatives will be added to this blog entry a.s.a.p. You can also keep track of the strike using these two links :