Month: August 2012

Switching ISPs from Shaw to TekSavvy

SFFaudio Online Audio

ShawTekSavvyCanadians, particularly those in the Vancouver area, may be interested in this post – others not so much.

I’m switching internet service providers.

I’ve had Shaw cable internet for as long as they’ve been in business here. Before that it was Rogers who provided internet access. I only switched when the monopoly in this area was handed over from Rogers to Shaw.

Over the years Shaw has been pretty good. I don’t think they’ve engaged in a lot of the shitty practices I hear many ISPs have.

But, the price has never gone down, and the service hasn’t really improved.

So, when I saw that there was an $3.00 increase scheduled for September 1st, 2012, one without explanation as to how I was getting a better service for it, I decided to look around at the competition.

I think I first heard about Ontario based TekSavvy back in 2010, when the then CEO, Rocky Gaudrault, went on TVO’s Search Engine podcast to talk about usage based billing (here’s that |MP3|).

Gaudrault made a great impression, and I remember thinking that TekSavvy sounded like they were the ideal ISP.

Shortly after beginning my research today I discovered that TekSavvy has started operating in Coquitlam, I gave them a call. They use the same wires as Shaw, but they offer those same wires at a better price and with better download and upload numbers.

Shaw’s “High Speed Internet” for August cost me $58.24 per month (including taxes)

TekSavvy’s “Extreme Cable 25 Unlimited” $50.34 per month (including taxes)

TekSavvy promises numbers about double the download speed and quadruple the upload speed I am currently getting. And it’s cheaper.

Here are the three calls I made today:

First call |MP3| Inquiring To Teksavvy

Second call |MP3| Cancelling Shaw

Third call |MP3| Signing Up With Teksavvy

All three recordings are unedited except for the obfuscation of some non-$$ based numbers.

Here’s all three done up as a YouTube video:

The only downside to today’s switch is the switchover cost. Here’s what I paid out today to switch:

Qty Item Price
1 Shipping – Canada Post $10.00
1 Activation Discount – Rabais d’activation -$20.00
1 DCM475 DOCSIS 3 Modem $99.00
1 TekSavvy Extreme Cable 25 Unlimited / TekSavvy Câble extrême 25 Illimité $44.95
1 Activation Fee – frais d’activation ($79.00) $79.00

Subtotal: $212.95
BC HST : $25.55
Total: $238.50

I’ll let you know how it goes on September 14th, 2012.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston

SFFaudio Review

Science Fiction Audiobook - Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card and Aaron JohnstonEarth Unaware
By Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston
Read by Stefan Rudnicki, Stephen Hoye, Arthur Morey, Vikas Adam, Emily Janice Card, Gabrielle de Cuir, and Roxanne Hernandez
14 Hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Published: 2012
Themes: / Science Fiction / Solar System / Asteroids / Mining / Gravity / Aliens / Alien invasion /

One of the pleasures of listening to science fiction audiobooks over the years has been hearing Orson Scott Card’s Ender series. Besides being expertly narrated by an ensemble led by Stefan Rudnicki, these audiobooks are entertaining because Card isn’t delivering the same book over and over. In Earth Unaware, Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston take the series in yet another direction.

I know, I know. It’s been proven time after time. When a book series gets to the point where [Original Author] picks up [Insert new author here (often a relative)], the results are just… not good. I’m happy to report that Earth Unaware is an excellent novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Aaron Johnston and Orson Scott Card created and are telling the story of the First Formic War in the comic format. I haven’t read those, so I can’t say how similar this novel is, but Aaron Johnston says in the Afterword that Earth Unaware draws from the characters and events in those comics.

The subtitle (First Formic War) implies that we’re in for a military SF novel, but that’s not what this is. This novel is a tense near-space adventure set in the not too distant future and peopled with characters I cared about. The opening reveals the thoughts and feelings of teenager on the El Calvador, a mining ship in the Kuiper Belt. Close by, on a different ship, is a man who has invested much time and effort into the invention of a gravity laser. He needs to prove his worth to his corporate employer. And back on Earth, an elite military unit is being formed. These lives, some entwined, move forward as normal until all interests are altered in the face of the arrival of an alien ship in the solar system.

Even though the cover doesn’t say it, this is Book 1 of at least a few. I look forward to the continued development of the concept of difference. On Valentine Wiggin’s Hierarchy of Foreignness is Varelse. True aliens, aliens so alien that we can’t even communicate with them or even hope to understand them. How could war with such a race be avoided? Difference also extends to human beings, who seem so content to drop their conflicts in the face of greater danger. Why is that what it takes?

The audiobook is performed by multiple narrators in the style that fits Orson Scott Card’s stories so incredibly well. The narrators (all excellent) change with the POV of the story. Reading the story were: Stefan Rudnicki, Stephen Hoye, Arthur Morey, Vikas Adam, Emily Janice Card, Gabrielle de Cuir, and Roxanne Hernandez. Top notch!


 

 
Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Lovecraft: Fear Of The Unknown (2008)

SFFaudio Online Audio

Suvudu On AirHaving just watched the excellent 2008 documentary, Lovecraft: Fear Of The Unknown, I went looking for a podcast interview about it. I found one! Suvudu On Air #24 has a short interview with the filmmaker, Frank Woodward.

Here’s the interview. |MP3|

The doc itself is full of fascinating interviews intercut with H.P. Lovecraft inspired art (much of which comes from the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society) and brief snippets of prose.

Writers Peter Straub, Neil Gaiman, and Caitlín R. Kiernan talk about Lovecraft and filmmakers Stuart Gordon, John Carpenter, and Guillermo Del Toro do too!

I loved it!

And here’s the documentary in it’s entirety via YouTube:

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Elvenquest AUDIO DRAMA

SFFaudio Review

Elvenquest featuring Stephen Mangan with Darren Boyd, Sophie Winkleman, Alistair McGowan, and Kevin EldonElvenquest
Written by: Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto
Cast: Stephen Mangan, Alistair McGowan, Sophie Winkleman, Darren Boyd, Kevin Eldon, Dave Lamb. Also featuring Chris Pavlo, Carrie Quinlan, Lizzy Watts, and Clare Willie.
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 4
Released: 3 August 2009
Publisher: AudioGO

Synopsis: Sam is a fantasy novelist who is whisked off to a Tolkien-style parallel universe by a noble elf, a sexy warrior princess, and a feisty dwarf called Dean. Why? Because Sam’s dog is the Chosen One who is destined to save “Lower Earth” from the evil Lord Darkness.

Three words: Fun. Fun. Fun.

A smartly written script and a great cast make for a wonderfully hilarious send-up of the fantasy quest story and of fantasy novels in general.

Writers Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto hit all the right notes: the Chosen One, a prophecy, elves, dwarves, warrior maidens, demons, goblins, trolls, unicorns, deadly traps and puzzles, and colonic irrigations, to name a few. Imagine Lord of the Rings as written by Douglas Adams, Mel Brooks, and the Monty Python troupe and you get the picture.

Most importantly–the cast. The cast, I think, really nails the script with excellent performances and crackerjack comic timing.

Stephen Mangan as Sam Porter seems to be, at times, channeling Simon Jones as Arthur Dent and it works. Sam, like Arthur, is out of his depth in Lower Earth and is simply trying to fit in.

Alistair McGowan plays Lord Darkness like a mixture of Alan Rickman’s Sheriff from Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves and Rowan Atkinson’s Edmund Blackadder. He’s even got a Blackadder-like delivery and intonation.

Vidar the Elf Lord isn’t the brightest crayon in the box but makes up for it by being gung-ho and bombastic and Darren Boyd captures that beautifully. He sounds like he’s having too much fun declaiming and waxing rhapsodic.

Dave Lamb, as Amis the Dog/the Chosen One, is canine exuberance personified. Sophie Winkleman is superb as Penthiselea the Warrior Princess, lending the right touch of kick-ass chick with a sword, as well as being the voice of grounded reason for the others and, in many cases, the straight man–er, woman.

As Dean the Dwarf and Kreech the evil sidekick, Kevin Eldon manages to portray seemingly polar opposite characters who happen to share a “love” for violence. Dean wants to dash into battle at every opportunity while Kreech wants to unleash the goblin hordes on the questers.

The one thing that irked me while listening was the laugh track. I didn’t think it needed to be there and, at first, was distracting. But I got used to it enough that it “faded” into the background.

According to this site, the show was recorded in front of a live audience. Explains the track.

But I still think it’s unnecessary.

Other than that, this is a top-of-the-line production and I highly recommend it. Especially if you love comedy and fantasy. And comedic fantasy.

Posted by Abner Senires