So the Canadian Mint, the makers of coinage and all things Pirates like to put in their teeth, have decided to go digital. Talk about ground breaking.

When looking at the website you are almost led to believe this is an Open Source project. The page is littered with developer resources, SDK information and a heavy push to incite mobile developers to get in the game of making this compatible as a payment option for anything digital. The API documentation and project seems to have been in the works for a long time. This is not a fly-by-night concept doomed to fail, this is the future of currency.

The irony is that if you develop a really cool app using this new payment method then could win 50,000 in gold bullion. Wow, real gold. But why not pay me in MintChip? O.K, I am being facetious. Truth is I would LOVE gold bullion.

The point of this post is to celebrate a formalised institution embracing the future of digital technology as a method of payment. Let's see how it goes and how it stacks up against PayPal and similar.

Most people know I love kashflow but I have probably not always been honest about the design, especially of their website. In fact there have been times I have been worried the pink and blue website colours would lead to their demise and cripple their growth compared with other 'online accounting software' companies. So needless to say I was delighted to see that kashflow, your easy to use small business accounting software, has had a facelift. Not only have they had a facelift but they have added very cool video to the home page and used Stephen Fry for the voice over. I, personally, couldn't be happier.

Well done kashflow. And as always use GIVEME1OFF to save a quid a month.

What is KashFlow from KashFlow on Vimeo.

So, sometimes this blog tends to look like a reviews website but when you have a good experience with people you want to give them a shout out, and if you don't it works the same.

So, anyway, if you are looking to get a mortgage you need a good Mortgage broker or mortgage sales agent in Vancouver. You will not have a shortage of people saying 'oh I know someone' or 'my friends cousins mother knows a guy...' etc etc. but don't get distracted because I am here to definitively give you the best of the best. You will find no smarter, more experienced, more knowledgeable, more helpful mortgage guru than Tom Prasol and you can contact him at the RBC branch in Yaletown (no it doesn't matter if you are buying elsewhere).

Technically he isn't a mortgage broker but that isn't important - what is important is that you talk to him before making any decisions on a mortgage. Even if you have a broker have a talk with him anyway.

You might have all read my Mobilicity Review for Vancouver which was over a year ago now. With all the comments on that post I figured it was time to try a cheap network again. I have been with Bell since my terrible experience with Mobilicity but some of you have been telling me how much better they have become. I couldn't face them again but the latest advertising campaign from Wind Mobile in Vancouver made me think that my expensive plan with Bell could be beaten by a $30 plan from Wind and that they were a more robust network. May I start this by saying my attitude was positive and I wanted the best from this experience. I support any efforts by any network to challenge the big 3, and I outline at the end how these networks, Wind and Mobilicity, might work for you.

So, the connection. The experience was good. Although I went into the Willowbrook Mall location in Langley and the first agent was quite rude to another customer as I waited which was disappointing. However, the guy I spoke to was brilliant. Friendly, helpful and he knew his way around my Samsung Galaxy (Vibrant) incredibly well. A good start, I was confident and expectant.

So you have a flat or house and you need a roommate. You want the right roommate, not the guy who smokes in the kitchen or the girl who has the Dog that urinates on the Couch weekly. Find me a Room is about finding a roommate but getting an idea about what your getting in your other roommates. See what your potential flatmates are into, or not into and get an idea of the house, flat to let.

It's free and it includes handy maps, is open to anyone and can handle multiple languages. It's also global so it doesn't matter where you live.

Find me a Room, or find you a room, or find us a roommate, or find you a flatmate or....you get it.

Let me know what you think.

My take on the SHURE SE215 earphones.

Good heapdphones are like a good yoga or gym session, they give you happiness and can calm the mind. Bad headphones are like a day at a daycare centre with 20 screaming infants and hardwood floors. It's stressful, straining and damaging to the ears. 

I would not say I am an audiophile but I do like music to be played as close as possible to the way it was intended. With my limited time recording in studios I appreciate that what the musicians get out of their gear will often then be distorted by the perceptions of the audio engineer, the mixer, masterer and producer. So I figure it's probably important not to further murder their efforts by using crap headphones. Can't afford them? Then save up and don't spend less in the meantime. You'll be glad you did.

I have the best android iCloud alternative below but sorry, iCloud for Android doesn't technically exist, and iCloud for Blackberry doesn't either - but here is something equally useful for Android and Blackberry users. This is how you can get the iCloud experience without the ios5 device.

I have an iPad and an Android phone (Samsung Galaxy S). I work on a PC at work and a Macbook at home. So for me iCloud is awesome but useless as it doesn't cross over all my devices. If you are looking for the easier cross platform/device alternative there is a simple answer: SugarSync

SugarSync is cooler or as equally cool as iCloud and Dropbox for the following reasons:

• Works on android, iphone, blackberry, symbian, mac and PC.
• You can choose what folders to sync (dropbox is great but tends to focus on your one dropbox folder)
• You get 5GB free up front
• It has a great online interface

So you've finally realised the value of Cloud Computing. Overall you seem to think it is a solid, sound, affordable solution for your computing, storage and business needs. More importantly you have chosen a SaaS provider (Software-as-a-Service) for different parts of your business. In fact you may have even chosen a PaaS provider but that is for another post.

It used to be you went to facebook to share all the interesting and mundane elements of your life. Friends, family and acquaintances were all subject to your mood, your pictures, your daily rants and philosophical murmurings. Since the advent of Google+ however it seems things have gone a little quiet. People are straddled between facebook and google+ no knowing where to post to ensure the right people see their message. The notifications icon at the top of facebook seems strangely quiet and it seems some people are worried they have lost the 'audience' and 'friends' they once had. The obvious issues seem to be:

• Google messed up the launch and not everyone got on to G+ at the same time
• Google+ while simple and nice is not always clear about who you are sharing what with.
• Google+ operates a little different and posting on peoples walls is not possible in the same way it is on facebook
• People want to post and get responses but if you only want to post once then where do you post?

The Rugby World Cup is coming up this year in New Zealand. The question on every ex-pats lips is how can we watch the Rugby World Cup online? And even better how can we watch it Live in HD?

There seem to be a large number of dodgy sites online offering subscriptions to watch the rugby. Once you sign up they offer different links you can use to watch online. This, I expect, is sub-par, a little risky and not worth it.

There is nothing on the official Rugby World Cup website (http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/) so I am looking further afield. There is nothing on the BBC site or ESPN but hope that someone will offer this online, even for a fee. I just don't want to sign up for Cable or a full subscription. I am wanting to pay for the service for the two months the games are on.

Anyone have any ideas? And don't post links to lame sites like the ones mentioned above. If I want to watch average quality sports online live I can find free sources for that.