4 ms·

What gets me aren't devices that may have phyisical limitations or regulations to overcome (e.g., Kindle net access is bound to a US provider, hence not availab

by lux 17y ago

What gets me aren't devices that may have phyisical limitations or regulations to overcome (e.g., Kindle net access is bound to a US provider, hence not available here), but the purely online services that there's no reason we can't access other than a paranoid legal team and a US-only registration form. Amazon's Mechanical Turk is one big example of that. Amazon FPS and Google Checkout are a couple others. Are we really that small of a market that we're not worth considering even after several years?

mikeyur 17y ago
The copyright stuff bothers me the most. Why can't they get Canada-focused Hulu ads for example? Or the ability to stream music in Pandora outside the US?
noonespecial 17y ago
Are we really that small of a market that we're not worth considering even after several years? I think it may be more about how hard it is to get set up in Canada and deal with local laws and regulations. If it comes down to two countries of equal size, the one with more restrictions will have to get in line behind the one with fewer. Too far down the queue and the product just never comes. I have very little experience or knowledge when it comes to international business. I do know first hand that its quite a bit easier to send goods to Australia than Canada from where we are. I thought NAFTA was supposed to fix this. As the roman poet said, "If you want to be loved, be loveable."
Tiktaalik 17y ago
Probably the most glaringly bizarre and horrible example is the lack of Mint.com in Canada. This is strange and aggravating for two main reasons. Firstly because Mint.com has been around since 2006, which is a very, very long time in internet years and they should have expanded beyond the USA by now. Secondly, because many Canadian banks, for example TD Bank (TD = Toronto Dominion), have large presences in the USA and you can use Mint.com with them. The fact that you can use Mint.com in America with a Canadian bank but you can't use Mint.com in Canada (which only has like 6 banks) is so bizarre and arbitrary that it feels offensive.
- patio11 17y ago
  Mint is just a user-friendly wrapper on Yodlee, which integrates directly with the banks to get the data. The amount of data slurped is incredible -- basically, an RSS feed on your financial life. Your government, in its infinite wisdom, has seen fit to protect you from unscrupulous American companies which could possibly record your data without complying with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. (Never heard of it? Your bank has.) This strengthened existing legislation, such as the Bank Act (never heard of it? Your bank has.), one section of which "requires banks to maintain and process in Canada any information or data relating to the preparation and maintenance of bank records, including customer account records".

by lux 17y ago

mikeyur 17y ago

The copyright stuff bothers me the most. Why can't they get Canada-focused Hulu ads for example? Or the ability to stream music in Pandora outside the US?

noonespecial 17y ago

Are we really that small of a market that we're not worth considering even after several years? I think it may be more about how hard it is to get set up in Canada and deal with local laws and regulations. If it comes down to two countries of equal size, the one with more restrictions will have to get in line behind the one with fewer. Too far down the queue and the product just never comes. I have very little experience or knowledge when it comes to international business. I do know first hand that its quite a bit easier to send goods to Australia than Canada from where we are. I thought NAFTA was supposed to fix this. As the roman poet said, "If you want to be loved, be loveable."

Tiktaalik 17y ago

Probably the most glaringly bizarre and horrible example is the lack of Mint.com in Canada. This is strange and aggravating for two main reasons. Firstly because Mint.com has been around since 2006, which is a very, very long time in internet years and they should have expanded beyond the USA by now. Secondly, because many Canadian banks, for example TD Bank (TD = Toronto Dominion), have large presences in the USA and you can use Mint.com with them. The fact that you can use Mint.com in America with a Canadian bank but you can't use Mint.com in Canada (which only has like 6 banks) is so bizarre and arbitrary that it feels offensive.

patio11 17y ago
Mint is just a user-friendly wrapper on Yodlee, which integrates directly with the banks to get the data. The amount of data slurped is incredible -- basically, an RSS feed on your financial life. Your government, in its infinite wisdom, has seen fit to protect you from unscrupulous American companies which could possibly record your data without complying with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. (Never heard of it? Your bank has.) This strengthened existing legislation, such as the Bank Act (never heard of it? Your bank has.), one section of which "requires banks to maintain and process in Canada any information or data relating to the preparation and maintenance of bank records, including customer account records".