I had a good chuckle over this article in CIO about why IT might think their CIO is clueless.  This point clicked with me, because I think it makes a pretty interesting point: to be a good CIO you have to grok geek culture:
8. The CIO collaborates to death. Whether it is the character flaw of being indecisive or some middle-school notion of democracy, you are in charge. Collaboration is critical, but you also need to make the right decision at the right time. Collaborate like Captain Kirk. "Spock?" "Bones?" He gets opinions from …read more

I’m going to get an Asus Eee 900 soon.  I’m going to sacrifice space for XP so I can use some of my favourite tools.

Which begs the question—what are those core tools?
This is my list:

Windows Live Writer
AbiWord
Flock
Twhirl
SnagIt
An image editor of some kind that has a small footprint.
Skype
Gtalk

That’s it.  I’ll get rid of MS Works and pretty much anything that isn’t going to be for live blogging or light writing isn’t going to be there.
RSS and email: web-based
So, the question then becomes…what would your kit have in it?

I’m well ensconced over here in a corner of Century, a lovely little restaurant that used to be a bank about a billion years ago. Or you know, about 90 in the world of Vancouver architecture. Same thing really.
I’ve managed to secure myself a beer and a photographer, in that order, and really, that’s all I need. (images coming as soon as he gets them online)
We’re getting underway here shortly….
7:15 annnd I’ve just confirmed that I don’t have a connection. excellent. This will be a really good live blog without an actual wifi connection. Rebecca has a connection. …read more

This morning Rick Segal was here for the Victoria VC Roundtable .  One of the things that I really like about Rick is that he is passionate about the companies he invests in, but the thing I like most is that he is unabashedly pro-Canadian.  Rick, like me, is American–I took the leap and became a citizen, but his passion and belief in Canada is probably second to none.  So in honour of Rick, and thoroughly borrowing from him, here are the top ten reasons your tech startup should be in Canada:
 

Canadians are innovative. One word: RIM.
Canadians are well …read more

Sorry for no posts yesterday, I have a bunch stacked up now and don’t even ask about RSS feeds.
Before I got to my writing I went out and got an EVDO card from Telus–more on that later–and by the time I got home and such I had to dash out.  By the time dinner rolled around, well it felt like a gnome was trying to break out of my skull above my left eye.
Needless to say, that doesn’t help one get writing done.
I managed to dig out of email and such before I crashed last night, but that’s it.
Interesting how …read more

Continuing my usual cheerleading for Web 2.0 in Canada, here are some good links highlighting folks who have been on panels recently (SXSWi, Convergence Integration) and just have some good news to share.
First off is Aidan Henry’s list of Victoria startups to watch:
A few of the start-ups that are paving the way in the Victoria pure-play Internet space include:

DailySplice – Personalized, daily podcast radio.
Indochino – Affordable, tailored men’s suits online.
Teampages – Simplified team and league management tools for sports.
Oprius – Web-based application suite for network marketers.

Two other early-stage players include Zumer and Utilium (both in private Beta) . …read more

According to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, there are now 19.3 million wireless subscribers in Canada, which means the national penetration rate is now more than 60%.
The CWTA – the lobbying arm for the wireless industry – breathlessly reports that Canadians are among the most enthusiasm users of wireless voice services with monthly usage of more than 400 minutes. Of course, what the CWTA doesn’t mention is that the 60% penetration rate is pretty sad compared with the U.S. (more than 80%), and Europe where most countries have penetration rates of more than 90%.
The Canadian wireless industry likes to suggest …read more

Anyone remember Copernic?
At one time, they were a really cool meta-search engine based in Quebec City that attracted a fair bit of attention because it was innovative, interesting and, well, was based in Quebec City. Then, it was acquired by Montreal-based Mamma.com, a search engine that Mark Cuban invested in for a brief period of time. Copernic quickly disappeared from the tech landscape, which was really too bad given its roots.
So, it was encouraging – I guess – to see a press release yesterday that Copernic, which is Mamma.com’s new name, has launched an updated version of Copernic Mobile that …read more

With SAP moving into the business intelligence software business by acquiring Business Objects for $6.8-billion, you have to wonder about Cognos Inc.’s future.
Speculation is running rampant that it’s only a matter of time before Ottawa-based Cognos is snapped up as well – a move that would cost about $4-billion (not including a takeover premium). Among the potential suitors is IBM Corp. Microsoft could also be in the picture given the long-standing rumors of its interest in Cognos.
In general, SAP has not made large acquisitions but the company said it made an exception because the business intelligence market is growing so …read more

It looks like the iPhone is coming to Canada – and you can snap one up for a cool $799 at Holt Renfrew, according to Digital Journal. For those of you not familiar with Holt Renfrew, it’s a high-end retailer where all the rich people shop.