Thursday, February 24, 2011

Oy Gevalt!!! Again with the #$%^n Fees - Rental Cars in Toronto

So, trying to be a little more green here, I got rid of my car and thought, now that I'm living in DT Toronto, I'd do as many locals do, which is what I did in Manhattan as well - rent when you need car. Take the subway, ride your bike, take a cab, rent a car.

This prospect seems to be attractive, and one that I used to undertake - rent when you need a car.

I've just finished looking in to reservations with Hertz and Avis in the downtown core, there is a $10 per DAY surcharge on all reservations. Like WTF??? Am I now responsible for a rental car company's expenses? Ok, maybe adjust your rental rates up, as is the practice in different markets, big cities are generally more than smaller ones where real estate is cheaper. But $10 a day, I don't even have the car there. Jeezuz H Christ I swear sometimes we exist just so companies can charge us fees. Our life is fees and taxes. Our environment, which should be host, is parasitic, and every company or government org has some fee to reach in to our pockets.

As an fyi to anyone renting in Toronto, look outside the downtown core for a rental, there may not be a fee. I found an Avis in HighPark that doesn't charge this fee. To those downtown locations, go self procreate yourself.

: )

Sincerely,
Morley.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Stop the Gouging!! Sign a pettition and let the CRTC know, NO to internet metering.

http://stopthemeter.ca

Make a donation to help us stop the meter at http://openmedia.ca/drive (Donating to us will be less expensive than paying punitive fees.)

- The OpenMedia.ca Team

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The CRTC just decided to let your Internet Service Provider put a meter on your Internet!

Bell Canada and other big telecom companies can now freely impose usage-based billing on independent Internet Service Providers (indie ISPs) and YOU. Big Telecom companies are obviously trying to gouge consumers, control the Internet market, and ensure that consumers continue to subscribe to their television services.

This means we're looking at a future where ISPs will charge per byte, the way they do with smart phones. If we allow this to happen, Canadians will have no choice but to pay more for less Internet.

This will crush innovative services, Canada's digital competitiveness, and your wallet.

We need to stand up for the Internet.

Sign the Stop The Meter petition at: http://StopTheMeter.ca

Want to know more? Here’s the lowdown:

This decision is a blow to consumer choice, to access, and to free expression. Independent Internet service providers (ISPs), such as TekSavvy, pay incumbent telecoms like Bell for access points in their networks. In applying usage-based billing (UBB) to these indie ISPs, the CRTC has allowed Bell to determine and limit how many gigabytes of usage their independent competitors can provide to their customers.

- This severely limits competition in the telecommunications market, which is bad for innovation and diversity of content.

- This also means that the cost will necessarily be passed down to you, the consumer.

- Usage-based billing or metering discriminates against certain forms of information insofar as it charges consumers more for content that requires the use of a large amount of gigabytes, such as audio and video.

- This also means that those who produce media-based art, and depend on the Internet to show the world their work, are less able to produce and disseminate their content freely. This means less innovation and more control of art, film, music, and other forms we may not yet know of!

Sign the petition and save the freest medium we have ever known (again!). Stop the Meter and save our net!

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Read more at SaveOurNet.ca: http://saveournet.ca/content/what-does-usage-based-billing-mean-net-neutrality

Read more at OpenMedia.ca: http://openmedia.ca/blog/crtc-decision-all-bell-and-usage-based-billing-all

Read TV Versus The Internet by Steve Anderson: http://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2010/10/06/TVversusInternet/

Read more at CBC.ca: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/10/28/crtc-usage-based-billing-internet.html