I started using Zip.ca last month, a Canadian by-mail DVD rental service. I did my homework, it was recommended by a trusty co-worker, and am really happy with the service so far.

What I like

• They have a huge selection of foreign films, festival films, documentaries, obscure films, animé/manga, and TV shows.
• You queue up what you want to watch, and the discs arrive a few at a time.
• You can tell them when you’ve returned a disc, and they’ll send you another one while it’s in transit.

What could be better

• Movies arrive in pretty much any order, in a fairly random distribution of genres. I have some ideas on how to improve this, and I’m told they respond well to user recommendations.
• The site is far from web2.0 and is a bit slow at times. Once I got used to the site, I found it worked well enough for me … it just wasn’t inspiring.
• The recommendation system is pretty tame, and the per-movie content a bit thin. I realize that a Canadian service has a pretty small customer base compared to an Amazon or a Netflix, but there’s room for improvement.

Stats so far …

• I’m receiving 4 DVDs per week¹
• Average delivery time (to or from) is 1.25 days
• Cost per DVD: $1.17²
• Great movies so far: 8
• So-so movies so far: 3
• Crappy movies so far: 1

Survey says …

I’ll stick with Zip until the summer, then will pause or reduce it until the fall. Zip has great value if you don’t have to see the newest thing the moment it’s released³, so it fits my personality well. I’m excited about the large selection of hard-to-find stuff, though I haven’t received much of it yet.

The best part? Not having to wander around the video store like an idiot: I can research directors, writers and actors, queue up movies at my leisure, and the movies magically appear on my desk a few days later.

1. I watch them while coding in the evenings ↩
2. 3/Unlimited plan, 3 months with 1-free month promo ↩
3. They have an option for getting a movie “now”, but it costs more ↩

I’m a cheap bastard. I balked at Job’s announcement of the $20 iPod Touch upgrade pack. I already paid for the damned thing, why another $20 for applications that are free on the iPhone?¹ But guess what? The upgrade is worth it.

What you get:

• A capable mail application
• Google Maps
• A weather and stock applet
• Configurable desktop (including browser shortcuts on the desktop)

The mail application is brilliant. From the super-simple configuration, to its every-day use, it’s a robust workhorse. I had considered sticking with Google’s mobile Safari Mail, but it’s no comparison to Apple’s rich client. The only thing missing is client-side spam filtering (which isn’t surprising).

Google Maps is fun, but not a lot of use where I live (there are very few open wifi connections in the area). The weather and stock applets are cool, but are not something I’ll use that often. The new desktop features are a much-needed enhancement, but I don’t think they should have charged for them.²

And each of the new applications are fun to use. Apple has included the important features and enough flair that each bit makes you smile (at least for the first few days).

I’m happy to spend $20 on a great mail client, as it lets me detach from my computer and still stay connected. I wish that an iChat-like application would have been included, as it would make the Touch a full-blown PDA for my uses.

1. I know there’s some accounting mumbo jumbo reason for it, but I don’t care ↩
2. Features that make something usable don’t make for happy purchases ↩

Gizmodo reviews the new Wacom Cintiq 12WX LCD tablet, and it looks slick.

My iPod touch “development” hardware arrived today. I’ve been more excited by this toy than any I can remember, as it seems like such a disruptive leap in technology. And once the hardware was unpacked and set up, it was no disappointment: it’s the most enjoyable computing device I’ve every touched.

So what have I liked so far?

• It’s fun, and the interface is fall-over obvious
• The web browser works really well
• The screen is perfect for video
• iTunes store and uTube work better than expected
• Wifi works better than my HP laptop’s

What don’t I like?

• No easy local file storage (offline eBooks might be tough)
• Closed OS (ignoring the current hacks in the wild)
• Smudges easily
• Google reader doesn’t run very well
• No Java/Flash
• Selection of uTube content is limited

This device is perfect for me. I can read eBooks online, read news, watch some video, and listen to my music library. It’s also a tool I can use to test iPhone/iPod touch applications for work.

Update

The iTouch can view PDF files (which was one of my main questions before I bought it).

Real men love ‘The 5th Element’, a brilliant review of an excellent movie. It’s been ages since I watched this one, and now I think I will.

[stars: 5] Sicko (Michael Moore). A disturbing look at the HMO-infested health care system of the USA. I’m proud to be a Canadian today, with our view of making sure all of our nation is covered by reasonable health care. Moore’s depiction of Canadian Health Care was accurate too, mirroring my many experiences with it.

Get With the Program, a NYTimes article about the various tools authors are using today to create their universes. I’ve always seen a great potential for better (narrower?) writing tools, this confirms that there are still a few unexplored possibilities.

A tool to help you find a movie review site that matches your preferences. My matches?

• Peter Travers : 86%
• Rotten Tomatoes : 85%
• Roger Ebert : 85%
• James Bernadelli : 83%

I’ve always avoided Rotten Tomatoes, but apparently we agree on most movies.

Literate Programs, a wiki full of MIT-licensed, reviewed, and tested program and algorithm fragments.

A bit about code review at Google. What do you think about code review?