Jack Layton and his Legacy

One of Jack Layton's final words.

     Jack Layton is not a person you meet everyday, especially one that's in politics. He was known as the "healthcare" guy in our country for his countless acts to enforce healthcare and make life a better place. He was different. He wasn't the same old politician you see everyday. He had this thing where people like him, friend or foe. I always thought it wasn't true until I say friends and foes mourning his death. He was a true politician.

     He became captain of the NDP in 2003. At that time the NDP had become the laughing stock of the House of Commons and was losing grip on what it was saying. Then Jack came along even though he was only a city counselor before with no experience in Ottawa politics. He then turned a losing party into a winner with the 2011 election turning the party into the Official Opposition which it has never reached before. Furthermore, he influenced our health care system and negotiating with other parties to get not only what he wanted, but what all Canadians wanted: healthcare and affordable housing. He gave the basic necessities we all need but forget most of the time.

    He was also one of the few or should I say only leader that could actually connect with voters. Jack managed to know what people want and how to connect with them. That really showed when Quebec was first painted orange NDP for the first time after the Bloc had a monopoly on Quebec. He was a leader who was serious and knew how to have a good time. He always has a simple message so everyone can actually get it. Not only that, he looks at the good side of things. He doesn't show a lot of attack ads, instead showing ways the NDP would be different instead of saying that the Conservatives are creating more tax cuts for businesses or Michael Ignatief is corrupt since he lived in America previously.

     Jack Layton may have died on August 22, 2011 peacefully to unite a country and to bring change. He doesn't care about friends or foes as he treats them all the same. He works with people instead of fighting and tried to get things done. A type of man we won't see for a long time. A state funeral has been planned by Prime Minister Stephen Harper which is very unusual showing that Layton made many friends even though they were political foes.

How iTunes Could Improve With Competition

iTunes is the most widely used music service in North America and probably the world. The service has a 80% market share with it's iTunes store. The iTunes store is growing and will soon throw competitors off the racks of shelves. The question is: Why hasn't anyone challenged it?

The iTunes Store has a scot free almost no competition streak. The only competitors are Napster and Rhapsody which are only music not like the all in one iTunes Store package. iTunes has been hard to beat with Apple's power and the fact that they have okay quality music for a reasonable price. The only times a competitor would improve is because of competition like the situation in Canada where wireless carriers are fighting for customers like there's no tomorrow with Bell, Telus and Rogers yanking their throats with unbelievable deals not seen before. Now lets look at iTunes. Previously it offered low quality music at the same price, but that changed thanks to BitTorrent. The site OiNK's Pink Palace used to offer high quality music in all formats at the highest bit rates in each format. When it got shut down, iTunes quickly increased the bitrate of their music and made it DRM free.

That doesn't explain why a new company shouldn't take the crown away. What's shocking is that iTunes hasn't changed much over the years that is worth noticing. Ever since OiNK it's stayed the same. iTunes needs a new competitor,but it's not getting one. I believe a new service can work out the things companies won't do so they can maximize profits. Now, I'm sounding all Mao Zedong-ish but lets think about the people for a second. If we don't give them what they want won't there be rebellion. If something legal like OiNK started, then there wouldn't be such thing, would there. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails was a member and said at the time of closure "I admit I had an account there and frequented it quite often. At the end of the day, what made Oink a great place was that it was like the world's greatest record store. Pretty much anything you could imagine, it was there, and it was in the format you wanted. If Oink cost anything, I would certainly have paid, but there isn't the equivalent of that in the retail space right now." He criticized services like iTunes for being poor and low-quality.

The question is when will we see change. Not so likely. I want to lead that change. Nothing in this world is perfect, but we can make it close enough to call it perfect.