Andrew Robulack

the homesteader and mr. troll a parable about ubb

User-Based Billing, or UBB, is the single-most important issue facing Canadian internet users right now. But most of us don't have a clue what it's all about.

maybe porn is better for your kid after all

Wolverine races through the jungle towards a group of dark-skinned thugs. With that distinctive "SNIKT" sound, his adamantium claws slice out of the skin between his knuckles.

all i want for christmas is a tickle me elmo

Sometimes I wonder what Christmas is even about any more. It used to be a magical time. You'd go out with your family to chop down a tree.

is apple killing the mac

By far, Apple's great success has been its mobile devices: the iPhone, the iPod and the iPad. The popularity and tremendous sales of these devices have overshadowed the company's legacy Mac platform in recent years.

Re: Re: Re: Here is this week’s column

OK, so as far as titles go, that one sucks. It doesn't tell you anything about what might be in this column. But that was intentional.

having faith in being human

As our plane lifted off the runway, my son turned to me and asked, "How does this airplane even get off the ground?" I looked out the window. The wings were shaking as they carved through the air. The massive engines were roaring and spewing heat.

an authentic chinese market

You walk out of the massive immigration building into the sprawling modern city of Zhuhai, China. In front of you is a gaping hole in the public square. It is the main entrance to a cavernous subterranean shopping plaza.

northwestels internet fees are ridiculous

A piece of 2-by-4 lumber in Whitehorse costs about $2.57. In Toronto it costs a bit less: about $2.49.

an old farmer revisits his hometown

Foghorn Lee Jones Guest columnist Howdy there, stranger! I've been away from these parts for a while, and I've just come back for a howdedoo. I can see not much has changed in the Village of Cable TV since I've been gone.

you are what you post you hope

I moved into a new house earlier this year, and only recently began to feel at home there. So last week I hauled some boxes out of the garage and began to unpack them. Most were books that I have read and collected since I was very young.

i less in alaska

Last long weekend, on a whale-watching junket to Skagway and Juneau, I found myself plunged into two days of intense internet deprivation.

Meet your new government

Your new government knows everything about you. It knows who your friends and family are. It knows where you are at all times, where you're going, and where you've been.

whatever music you want whenever 5 a month

I have tasted the future of music, and it's quite delicious. A new service from the guys who brought us the seminal Skype, Rdio (pronounced R-deo) is a subscription-based streaming music service that was released in Canada this week.

The unlocked iPhone: Start of a Canadian revolution?

The fact that Apple now offers an "unlocked" version of the iPhone 3GS in Canada, and will soon release an unlocked iPhone 4, hasn't received much attention. That's too bad, because it's a development that's very important to us as consumers.

some alternatives to northwestels internet shortcomings

Like an aging porn star, Northwestel just can't keep it up. And by "it," I mean that which is most important. And in Northwestel's case it is the internet.

The generation gap of tags and folders

We've all watched the scene. A secondary character in a prime time TV show quietly bites the dust in a hospital bed. The doctor pulls a sheet over his face.

facebook and the modern art of alchemy

You are Mark Zuckerberg. You are the CEO of Facebook. You are one of the most powerful people on Earth.

worker suicides in china its your fault

Some media outlets are working hard this week to pin blame on Apple for a worker's suicide at an iPhone-producing factory in Shenzhen, China. But it's not Apple's fault.

will a qualified iphone competitor finally stand up

The mobile phone industry is boring. It can be summed up in simple terms: the iPhone rules, everything else sucks. And that's getting really, really tired.

a recipe for dirt cheap high quality phone service

You just got a new North American toll free phone number. It has an unlimited North American long distance plan. When someone calls, it hunts for you in a manner that you define.