Hackers are everywhere. We are also finding that the Universe is information theoretic, that if we can build a big enough or fast enough machine that we can simulate any physical process. A lot of folks will tell you this isn't so, they're wrong.
We're also finding that Nature is highly programmable and hackable as well. For the longest time you had to be in a well-funded lab in order to hack biology. But with the advent of The Internet giving humanity the ability to form fora without having to leave their living room, or garage.
"No one needs a PCR machine at home, and the accoutrements to biological research are expensive, even if their prices fall daily..." from a Nature article that seems eerily familiar. Maybe something about there being a need for only five of them on the planet or needing only 640K of RAM.
The thing that most folks who work in industry or a lab forget is that for most of human history the folks doing the heavy lifting of discovery and pushing the boundaries did not work in industry or academia... but their basements or garages. Granted, some of the more esoteric discoveries pushing the boundaries of human knowledge today will require the infrastructure provided by industry or academia. However, don't dismiss the lone gun hacker that has that one moment of brilliant insight.
Later in the article...
'Jim Collins, a synthetic biologist at Boston University, says that the costs of doing molecular-biology research make the comparison between amateur biologists and the hackers who drove the personal-computer revolution inappropriate. There's a vast chasm between these tinkerers and those with access to a traditional lab. Faculty members, Collins says, typically ask for hundreds of thousands of dollars from a university to start a molecular-biology lab. Smart amateurs might be able to bring fresh perspective, he says, but they face an uphill battle. "I'm not saying you need to be appropriately pedigreed. I'm saying you need to be appropriately resourced."'
Jim is wrong. Reason #1 is that he is pedigreed and deems those not pedigreed but doing this work in their lab-garages as a threat to his funding. The reason his faculty members as for hundreds of thousands of dollars is because the system they operate under has allowed, and indeed expects those kinds of requests.
The same was true in the early days of computing. There were folks tinkering away in their "shacks", chipping away at the hard problems of information theory and computing... and the big boys in the big labs of those days looked down upon those tinkerers in the same way.
Reason #2 that Jim is wrong is that the fundamental appropriate resource is human ingenuity and brainpower. Having all the tools in the world at your disposal means squat if you don't have the first clue. The hacker idea of 'clue' is more useful than the most powerful tool. Tools are only force multipliers, there must be force applied before the tool works.
We are in the early stages of BioHacking. However, I expect this field to take off as quickly as the computing industry did. Stay tuned as it will be interesting.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Sunday, October 03, 2010
What Hollywood shoud fear
I have a friend who is a writer. Over twenty years ago I sat with him, late one nite, on a bridge over the canals of Las Colinas talking about various things. One of those things was story and how I envied his ability to put mere (ha!) words together to tell a story. I also, that nite or soon thereafter, claimed that copyright was dead. His rebuttal was that this is how he hoped to make part of his living, selling books. I responded that I believed the system to be out of whack. That his skill, and therefore value, is the ability to build a story using only words. That all the other stuff is extraneous and middle-man fluff.
In so many words.
Copyright is dead. Creators will create. Nothing will stop them. Consumers will consume. Nothing will stop them.
This is what Hollywood should fear, this is what any industry that is essentially a middle-man or broker role should fear.
Sintel is a short movie that was created entirely on commodity hardware using open-source tools. The story is compelling and moving. From a technical standpoint everything works, beautifully. If this is what a talented team can do outside of Hollywood now... wait a few years!
Then wait another couple of decades (a very short time, really) and see what humanity will be doing with atoms instead of bits.
In so many words.
Copyright is dead. Creators will create. Nothing will stop them. Consumers will consume. Nothing will stop them.
This is what Hollywood should fear, this is what any industry that is essentially a middle-man or broker role should fear.
Sintel is a short movie that was created entirely on commodity hardware using open-source tools. The story is compelling and moving. From a technical standpoint everything works, beautifully. If this is what a talented team can do outside of Hollywood now... wait a few years!
Then wait another couple of decades (a very short time, really) and see what humanity will be doing with atoms instead of bits.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Apple's "iTV"
Over at Engadget the "Real Geeks(TM)" are pissing all over themselves with respect to the latest rumor in the Apple Universe. A "trusted source" explains that Apple will be announcing a new set-top-box called the "iTV" based around their A4 architecture sometime this fall.
Several observations...
Several observations...
- This makes a whole lot of sense given that Google has announced an STB.
- Apple has stated that the Apple TV was just a "hobby". Whether folks realize it or not, Apple is very strategic in their forward thinking and planning. It has been a "hobby" because they needed to be able to get the early adopters to play with the technology to figure out where to go. If you don't understand how the iterative process works, you won't get that last statement. You won't also understand why Apple does the things it does. E.G. copy-and-paste on the iPhone.
- The "Real Geeks(TM)" are aghast at the idea that this device won't run 1080P. Misses, the point. The point is that if the $99 price point is correct this will entice consumers like crazy! The average consumer could care less, probably can't define the difference between 1080i/1080p/720p. Most probably can't visually tell the difference either.
- And now, for the Péice de résistance. Games. The blowhard "Real Geeks(TM)" are debating technical merits when the real meat here is that this is how Apple will make an entry into the Living Room gaming market. Several iOS game apps have millions of downloads and are played an average of an hour per day per user. Think about that. Now think about that as it applies to leisure time in front of the television. Get it?
One other observation here. Based on the idea that the "iTV" will be based on iOS, that should mean Bluetooth keyboard connectivity. A nice option for couch-surfing.
I can think of a couple of places where this will be useful, even though our home already has three AppleTV devices.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Non-human intelligence?
Robots in the stock market? Or maybe extra-terrestrials?
Connecting the dots in Vinge's "A Deepness in the Sky". The Emergent's use their advanced knowledge of computing and networking to compromise the Spider's systems and networks. Effectively running their own software company.
Could just as easily manipulate the markets in other fashions.
Plausible? I suppose so. Likely? Not very.
Connecting the dots in Vinge's "A Deepness in the Sky". The Emergent's use their advanced knowledge of computing and networking to compromise the Spider's systems and networks. Effectively running their own software company.
Could just as easily manipulate the markets in other fashions.
Plausible? I suppose so. Likely? Not very.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Why automated driving will take over
Traffic shockwaves, those traffic jams that occur for no apparent reason, have been reproduced in a laboratory setting for the first time. This is one of the primary reasons that automated driving systems will take over. Humans are unpredictable.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Spare time? Make the world smile!
Create acts of senseless beauty and random kindness.
There has been much discussion of what a post-scarcity world would look like. One side of the debate posits that no one will create anything because they won't get paid for it. You don't have to look far to find these dinosaurs in the world today. The big conglomerates that produce the media and expending ever more energy trying to protect their "assets". Come to think of it, when you look at it in those terms the energy budget could be thought of as upside down. The media conglomerates expend great amounts of energy on defending their "territory" and ever decreasing amounts of energy on creating or finding new "sustenance".
The other side of the debate (as if there were only two sides to this debate, the world is not that black and white) posits that people will create for the sheer sake of creation. The Free and Open Source movements are current examples that can be easily found in the world. Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands or millions, of person-hours have been contributed for "free" to the creation of tremendous monuments like Linux.
I'll posit a third idea.
That people will spend their time, their most valuable commodity, in endeavours that will make them and other folks smile.
For example:
If it is not immediately apparent to you, I want to bring two things to your attention.
Here's another example from Improv Everywhere.
Improv Everywhere began life doing flash mob type stuff. They've really opened up their repertoire as of late. The organizers may be making some money through advertising on YouTube, etc. but I doubt that it is a tremendous cash flow by any stretch of the imagination. The real question is how do they get 207 people to do these things? Look at the smiles on the faces of the folks around them when they freeze. Listen to the applause at the end of the event. Go back, I'll wait.
Not only that, but they can help a cause. Here's one of their latest events. Again, pay attention to the smiles on the uninformed participants faces. Not everyone gets what is going on... but those that do initially cannot believe it is happening but have a fun time with it once they begin to understand.
I recently showed a friend of mine a YouTuber that calls himself MysteryGuitarMan. Here's an example of one of his videos.
The fact that blew my friend away is that MysteryGuitarMan has 500,000 subscribers. I'm one of them. He asked how the dude made money. Through advertising and t-shirt sales was my answer, but that's not the real point, is it?!? The real point is that MysteryGuitarMan can influence 500,000 people. Directly. That's not a large number, but neither is it small. That's the truly powerful idea here.
Of course, that also brings us back to the initial reason for this post. Why does he do this? Do you think he had the idea of doing this for the money when he started? Doubtful. Very doubtful. MGM started doing this because it was fun and because he loved creating. It grew from there, and he may be financially successful from it one day... but I am willing to bet that he'd create even if he weren't getting paid in the historical sense of that word.
There has been much discussion of what a post-scarcity world would look like. One side of the debate posits that no one will create anything because they won't get paid for it. You don't have to look far to find these dinosaurs in the world today. The big conglomerates that produce the media and expending ever more energy trying to protect their "assets". Come to think of it, when you look at it in those terms the energy budget could be thought of as upside down. The media conglomerates expend great amounts of energy on defending their "territory" and ever decreasing amounts of energy on creating or finding new "sustenance".
The other side of the debate (as if there were only two sides to this debate, the world is not that black and white) posits that people will create for the sheer sake of creation. The Free and Open Source movements are current examples that can be easily found in the world. Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands or millions, of person-hours have been contributed for "free" to the creation of tremendous monuments like Linux.
I'll posit a third idea.
That people will spend their time, their most valuable commodity, in endeavours that will make them and other folks smile.
For example:
If it is not immediately apparent to you, I want to bring two things to your attention.
- These students spend a LOT of time getting everyone together and then choreographing this event.
- I'd bet that not a one of them made a dime from doing this.
- Because it was fun. It made everyone around them smile. Thereby making themselves smile. Endorphins are a tremendous thing!
- Those that participated got some whuffie. Those that organized got even more whuffie.
Here's another example from Improv Everywhere.
Improv Everywhere began life doing flash mob type stuff. They've really opened up their repertoire as of late. The organizers may be making some money through advertising on YouTube, etc. but I doubt that it is a tremendous cash flow by any stretch of the imagination. The real question is how do they get 207 people to do these things? Look at the smiles on the faces of the folks around them when they freeze. Listen to the applause at the end of the event. Go back, I'll wait.
Not only that, but they can help a cause. Here's one of their latest events. Again, pay attention to the smiles on the uninformed participants faces. Not everyone gets what is going on... but those that do initially cannot believe it is happening but have a fun time with it once they begin to understand.
I recently showed a friend of mine a YouTuber that calls himself MysteryGuitarMan. Here's an example of one of his videos.
The fact that blew my friend away is that MysteryGuitarMan has 500,000 subscribers. I'm one of them. He asked how the dude made money. Through advertising and t-shirt sales was my answer, but that's not the real point, is it?!? The real point is that MysteryGuitarMan can influence 500,000 people. Directly. That's not a large number, but neither is it small. That's the truly powerful idea here.
Of course, that also brings us back to the initial reason for this post. Why does he do this? Do you think he had the idea of doing this for the money when he started? Doubtful. Very doubtful. MGM started doing this because it was fun and because he loved creating. It grew from there, and he may be financially successful from it one day... but I am willing to bet that he'd create even if he weren't getting paid in the historical sense of that word.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Frontier Lost
When Kennedy spoke "we do these things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." and the desire to "send a man to the Moon and return him safely to the Earth" the space program was full of hope and although our country had numerous other problems and would get involved in a war in southeast Asia before accomplishing the task set before us by President Kennedy. We did it.
It is amazing what our Nation can do when our collective will is applied. I've had numerous people disagree with me as to the reasons why. That the whole of the program from Mercury through Apollo would have never happened if the Cold War had not been in progress. This idea saddens me. That only war will drive us into space, that humanity's drive and desire for exploration and knowledge had absolutely nothing to do with it. Seems that Hollywood is the primary driver of this idea, although they've not always been this way as posited by the article as well.
I've also given a fair amount of thought as to why most folks express only a limited interest in our path to the stars. My personal conclusion is that we have lost our vision of the frontier. We lost interest when we lost the ability to see the stars. When there is a constant reminder each and every time you look up, it is hard to forget. When you can't see the goal, it becomes almost impossible to remember why you're pushing so hard to get there. If we cannot see, there is little reason to strive.
This is why I look at the stars. This is why I hope to one day stand upon the shoulders of giants and push back the immutable and immeasurable darkness.
It is amazing what our Nation can do when our collective will is applied. I've had numerous people disagree with me as to the reasons why. That the whole of the program from Mercury through Apollo would have never happened if the Cold War had not been in progress. This idea saddens me. That only war will drive us into space, that humanity's drive and desire for exploration and knowledge had absolutely nothing to do with it. Seems that Hollywood is the primary driver of this idea, although they've not always been this way as posited by the article as well.
I've also given a fair amount of thought as to why most folks express only a limited interest in our path to the stars. My personal conclusion is that we have lost our vision of the frontier. We lost interest when we lost the ability to see the stars. When there is a constant reminder each and every time you look up, it is hard to forget. When you can't see the goal, it becomes almost impossible to remember why you're pushing so hard to get there. If we cannot see, there is little reason to strive.
This is why I look at the stars. This is why I hope to one day stand upon the shoulders of giants and push back the immutable and immeasurable darkness.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
A Lifelong Dream
I have had a lifelong interest in humanity's reach for the stars. I watched, awed, when Columbia launched in April 1981. It was the first manned American space launch that I was old enough to remember and experience. Since then I have seen several launches via television and every IMAX film about the space program.
I vowed to myself each time that I would make the physical trip to a launch one day. Soon.
Then the end of the Shuttle program was announced, and I said to my wife with great emotion in my voice, "I'll never get to see a Shuttle launch." Vowing to look at the schedule to see if there is any way.
Two flights remaining!
OUTSTANDING!
Ask the wife if she wants to visit Florida in September. Take the travel trailer and camp for about a week on the east coast. I know her answer, even before I ask. She's a salt-water fish so she would agree to anything that would get her close to an ocean shore.
Manatee Hammock RV Park in Titusville, FL seems a good location and comes highly recommended. As of Friday May 14th we have confirmed reservations for the days surrounding the launch of Discovery on STS-133!
Now, just awaiting causeway launch viewing tickets to go on sale.
Stay tuned for further updates.
Not a very good post. The excitement and elation I feel at the possibility of getting to experience a launch is almost overwhelming.
I vowed to myself each time that I would make the physical trip to a launch one day. Soon.
Then the end of the Shuttle program was announced, and I said to my wife with great emotion in my voice, "I'll never get to see a Shuttle launch." Vowing to look at the schedule to see if there is any way.
Two flights remaining!
OUTSTANDING!
Ask the wife if she wants to visit Florida in September. Take the travel trailer and camp for about a week on the east coast. I know her answer, even before I ask. She's a salt-water fish so she would agree to anything that would get her close to an ocean shore.
Manatee Hammock RV Park in Titusville, FL seems a good location and comes highly recommended. As of Friday May 14th we have confirmed reservations for the days surrounding the launch of Discovery on STS-133!
Now, just awaiting causeway launch viewing tickets to go on sale.
Stay tuned for further updates.
Not a very good post. The excitement and elation I feel at the possibility of getting to experience a launch is almost overwhelming.
Friday, May 14, 2010
"I hate the Internet"
I'm sure he does. The Internet allows for the quick dispersion of information to a very broad audience. When your power depends upon secrecy and the ability to act without oversight then the Internet really does become your enemy.
Source article.
Source article.
Apple vs Adobe -- Adobe thinks they've got the high road.
Here's Adobe's latest little add in Trash Flash wars. Adobe apparently thinks that they've got the high ground in this little battle. Before you begin thinking that I'm an Apple Fanboi you must know that I'm not real satisfied with the "Apple Ecosystem" right now. My device is my device, my purchases are mine. I don't necessarily like the idea that Apple thinks they still own my hardware and can do with the Apps I've purchased as they please... that's another discussion though.
In this case Adobe is trying to make everyone believe that they have everyone's best interests at heart. "Hey, write once and run anywhere!" Or so they say. If you've been around the information technology scene for any length of time you would be rich if you had $10USD for every time some company had claimed that. Don't think I need to name any names to make my point.
I call bullshit. Adobe's got nothing new and like every other vendor that has tried the "write once, run anywhere" trick, they fail at it just as miserably. Indeed, until virtualization and emulation are ubiquitous the idea of WORA is unreachable as far as I am concerned.
Adobe would only have the high ground, so to speak, if their technology actually worked as well as they purport it to work. The thing is that Flash crashes quite often and is generally less-than-stable even when it is running "correctly." Just because Adobe's tools supposedly have three million developers (and I discount those numbers as well, maybe that many folks have downloaded a package), that does not make them correct in this argument. Might and numbers does not necessarily mean you win the debate. If Adobe truly wanted the high-road in this battle they should say nothing, market nothing, and commit to making their product better.
This is what sticks in a lot of folks craw. Apple does make a "better" product and is trying to ensure that product meets the needs of the consumers, not necessarily we geeks. Flash is a crappy product, it was the best at doing what it did when nothing else scratched that itch... and Adobe has rested on it's laurels rather than making it better and competitive. Adobe could fix their problems, but they'd rather get into a marketing tit-for-tat than expending their energies where they would be beneficial.
Nope, no mourning for Adobe.
In this case Adobe is trying to make everyone believe that they have everyone's best interests at heart. "Hey, write once and run anywhere!" Or so they say. If you've been around the information technology scene for any length of time you would be rich if you had $10USD for every time some company had claimed that. Don't think I need to name any names to make my point.
I call bullshit. Adobe's got nothing new and like every other vendor that has tried the "write once, run anywhere" trick, they fail at it just as miserably. Indeed, until virtualization and emulation are ubiquitous the idea of WORA is unreachable as far as I am concerned.
Adobe would only have the high ground, so to speak, if their technology actually worked as well as they purport it to work. The thing is that Flash crashes quite often and is generally less-than-stable even when it is running "correctly." Just because Adobe's tools supposedly have three million developers (and I discount those numbers as well, maybe that many folks have downloaded a package), that does not make them correct in this argument. Might and numbers does not necessarily mean you win the debate. If Adobe truly wanted the high-road in this battle they should say nothing, market nothing, and commit to making their product better.
This is what sticks in a lot of folks craw. Apple does make a "better" product and is trying to ensure that product meets the needs of the consumers, not necessarily we geeks. Flash is a crappy product, it was the best at doing what it did when nothing else scratched that itch... and Adobe has rested on it's laurels rather than making it better and competitive. Adobe could fix their problems, but they'd rather get into a marketing tit-for-tat than expending their energies where they would be beneficial.
Nope, no mourning for Adobe.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Once is an accident... Twice is a coincidence... Three times will be marketing!
Apparently someone else has acquired a 4th generation iPhone. Considering how well Apple normally keeps secrets, this must be a marketing campaign. The timing against a couple of recent announcements, most specifically the fact that Android outsold iPhone in the last quarter, is too coincidental to ignore completely.
It will be interesting to see how Apple responds to this latest event based on the previous 4th gen iPhone "loss" event.
Although, it does look like my prediction about Apple using the A4 in the next iPhone is correct. Or this could be misinformation. Hey, wait a minute...
What if this is a complete disinformation and sleight-of-hand trick by Apple? What if both of these were not only planned events, but are intended to make us all think in one particular direction about the inevitable announcement of new iPhone hardware at WWDC'10? Jobs then whips out a completely different piece of hardware, nothing like these "leaked" devices.
Nah, couldn't happen. If any company on the planet could pull a stunt like that I'd have to believe it's Apple. However, having been in the employ of companies for a couple of decades I have to temper that thinking with the proverbial 5lb bag-of-salt. No organization on the planet has their stuff wired tight enough to pull off a stunt like that. Although, I'd love to see it happen like that.
Just a few more weeks and we'll all know for sure. One way or the other!
It will be interesting to see how Apple responds to this latest event based on the previous 4th gen iPhone "loss" event.
Although, it does look like my prediction about Apple using the A4 in the next iPhone is correct. Or this could be misinformation. Hey, wait a minute...
What if this is a complete disinformation and sleight-of-hand trick by Apple? What if both of these were not only planned events, but are intended to make us all think in one particular direction about the inevitable announcement of new iPhone hardware at WWDC'10? Jobs then whips out a completely different piece of hardware, nothing like these "leaked" devices.
Nah, couldn't happen. If any company on the planet could pull a stunt like that I'd have to believe it's Apple. However, having been in the employ of companies for a couple of decades I have to temper that thinking with the proverbial 5lb bag-of-salt. No organization on the planet has their stuff wired tight enough to pull off a stunt like that. Although, I'd love to see it happen like that.
Just a few more weeks and we'll all know for sure. One way or the other!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Visualization of Facebook Privacy Loss
A great visualization of how Facebook is changing the game on its users. Get out now!
The Yawn Hypothesis
I have posted before about my Yawn Hypothesis.
To further expand on this hypothesis.
The Yawnion was generated by the last sentient alive immediately before the heat death of the Universe in our far distant future. This sentient stretched, yawned, and ceased to exist thereby creating the Yawnion that is traveling backwards through time.
To further expand on this hypothesis.
The Yawnion was generated by the last sentient alive immediately before the heat death of the Universe in our far distant future. This sentient stretched, yawned, and ceased to exist thereby creating the Yawnion that is traveling backwards through time.
A brief history of programming languages
If you ever wondered why there are so many computer languages out there... and the history of how they came to be. You should read this.
Cold Turkey Facebook
I have recently left Facebook over numerous changes in their policies regarding data I had shared with my social network through their site. A lot of folks have expressed that they believe I am being overly sensitive about the situation, a few have accused me of outright paranoia.
Well, as an information security professional shouldn't I be a bit paranoid?
But it's really not about paranoia. It is about privacy, the right to ensure the data that I want to share with people is protected from disclosure to third parties that I don't want having the information. Facebook has decided they are the arbiters of my personal information on their site, not me.
For those folks who believe me sensitive, or even paranoid, here's a good article that further describes reasons why I left and so should you.
Well, as an information security professional shouldn't I be a bit paranoid?
But it's really not about paranoia. It is about privacy, the right to ensure the data that I want to share with people is protected from disclosure to third parties that I don't want having the information. Facebook has decided they are the arbiters of my personal information on their site, not me.
For those folks who believe me sensitive, or even paranoid, here's a good article that further describes reasons why I left and so should you.
Friday, May 07, 2010
Regulate 'em!
I've had enough. Normally I'm a fairly lasseiz-faire kinda guy, but the telecom, cable, and Internet Provider companies have had a free ride long enough.
The FCC took a beating in court over trying to ensure that consumers could use Comcast's network as a network, and Comcast danced about it. So the FCC uses it's "Nuclear Option" and announces that it will re-classify the ISPs as telecommunications providers... which causes much crying, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
Well, frankly, good for the FCC! I honestly believe that on a fair-and-level playing field, when corporations are trying to make a profit in a reasonable fashion that government has no role in the affairs of business.
However, when business starts to try to screw over customers then maybe its time for government to step in and assure the consumer is treated fairly. I have no doubt that a lot of pro-business folks are virtually screaming at their monitors at this point. Those same folks are also the ones screaming "you have a choice" at their monitors. They're wrong and misinformed. For a lot of folks there is only one telephone provider, one Internet provider that serves their area. If that one provider decides to block traffic on their network then the consumer has no choice. Accept a less-than completely useful Internet connection, or no Internet connection at all. Sure, that's a choice, but its not the lasseiz-faire free choice it should be.
What most do not seem to understand is that in the Information Age access to information is a fundamental human right. The Internet providers want to charge for every bit at the expense of the end-user. You may not think this affects you, until you can't get the information you need or the provider has made it prohibitively expensive to do so.
The FCC took a beating in court over trying to ensure that consumers could use Comcast's network as a network, and Comcast danced about it. So the FCC uses it's "Nuclear Option" and announces that it will re-classify the ISPs as telecommunications providers... which causes much crying, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
Well, frankly, good for the FCC! I honestly believe that on a fair-and-level playing field, when corporations are trying to make a profit in a reasonable fashion that government has no role in the affairs of business.
However, when business starts to try to screw over customers then maybe its time for government to step in and assure the consumer is treated fairly. I have no doubt that a lot of pro-business folks are virtually screaming at their monitors at this point. Those same folks are also the ones screaming "you have a choice" at their monitors. They're wrong and misinformed. For a lot of folks there is only one telephone provider, one Internet provider that serves their area. If that one provider decides to block traffic on their network then the consumer has no choice. Accept a less-than completely useful Internet connection, or no Internet connection at all. Sure, that's a choice, but its not the lasseiz-faire free choice it should be.
What most do not seem to understand is that in the Information Age access to information is a fundamental human right. The Internet providers want to charge for every bit at the expense of the end-user. You may not think this affects you, until you can't get the information you need or the provider has made it prohibitively expensive to do so.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
The Apple iPad and technologists v. Geeks v. The World
Allow me to admit that I am composing this entry on my new iPad. Also allow me to inform you that I am an avid user of Apple's products. I determined about a decade ago that I tired of always battling the operating system and the hardware. I want the tool I am using to "just work" when I want to get to work rather than having to "work on the tool" before I could accomplish anything productive. I am convinced that the Geek community at large is enamored and enchanted with the whole concept of working on the tool rather than being productive with a set of tools. I do admit that I do enjoy making my own tools, but I don't want the head of the hammer falling off every time I swing it to drive a nail.
In other words, I still build my own tools. But I know the difference between that and being productive with a set of tools. To me, the iPad is a tool. I understand its limitations, accept them, and use the tool for its designers intended purposes. You don't use a hammer to drive a screw. You could, but it frustrates you and messes up the screw.
All of the vitriol being spewed by my fellow Geeks about the iPad not having a camera, or flash, or a USB port really have turned off their critical thinking skills. The designer of the tool that is iPad understands better than they at this point what nail is to be driven with this hammer. I am absolutely amazed and amused over the whole uproar. The iPad has tremendous Geek uses, I won't have to lug around a laptop any longer during the day. Granted, lugging a unibody MacBook Pro is not much luqging... but I don't have to take a power cord along for the iPad and most of what I do away from my desk everyday... well, there's an app for that to speak in the parlance.
Let's be realistic though. The iPad is not a hammer that is targeted towards the Geek community. It is targeted towards the general population, and this is the real reason I think a lot of technologists are secretly disenchanted on the whole iPod/iPhone/iPad concept. The general population doesn't need us any longer when he devices become so simple to use.
Frankly. I'm happy about it. Maybe they'll all go off on their own now and let me get back to the projects and problems I want to work on rather than fixing all of their issues,
In other words, I still build my own tools. But I know the difference between that and being productive with a set of tools. To me, the iPad is a tool. I understand its limitations, accept them, and use the tool for its designers intended purposes. You don't use a hammer to drive a screw. You could, but it frustrates you and messes up the screw.
All of the vitriol being spewed by my fellow Geeks about the iPad not having a camera, or flash, or a USB port really have turned off their critical thinking skills. The designer of the tool that is iPad understands better than they at this point what nail is to be driven with this hammer. I am absolutely amazed and amused over the whole uproar. The iPad has tremendous Geek uses, I won't have to lug around a laptop any longer during the day. Granted, lugging a unibody MacBook Pro is not much luqging... but I don't have to take a power cord along for the iPad and most of what I do away from my desk everyday... well, there's an app for that to speak in the parlance.
Let's be realistic though. The iPad is not a hammer that is targeted towards the Geek community. It is targeted towards the general population, and this is the real reason I think a lot of technologists are secretly disenchanted on the whole iPod/iPhone/iPad concept. The general population doesn't need us any longer when he devices become so simple to use.
Frankly. I'm happy about it. Maybe they'll all go off on their own now and let me get back to the projects and problems I want to work on rather than fixing all of their issues,
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Cyborgs
Humanity is quickly approaching a very interesting time. Our tools, the machines that surround us, are coming ever closer to assisting us with tasks of the mind. We started with machines that assisted us with tasks of the muscle. Eventually giving rise to the industrial revolution. Now, we begin to see the tools to multiply the efforts of our minds. Those who worry about machines taking over in the future have not looked deep or far enough to realize that our machines, even eventually the sentient systems we build, will be guided by human thought processes and curiosity!
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Been There, Done That, Got the t-shirts and scars to prove it...
Yet again, proving that there are no new ideas under the Sun. Worked for a company named Digital Convergence at the end of the last decade that was doing this same exact thing. Funny part of this is that I've seen three or four other companies that have attempted the same thing.
You know, a URL is not such a hard thing to type. And with search being so prevalent nowadays one does not really need to remember URLs anyhow.
You know, a URL is not such a hard thing to type. And with search being so prevalent nowadays one does not really need to remember URLs anyhow.
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