By Charles

This link is to a very very interesting infographic, click above to check it out. The subject matter relates directly to the heart of living with computers: How Computers Are Ruining Your Brain. Of course, I tend to think this isn’t the case. I personally think that ultimately computers will push the human brain to healthier and happier heights so far unachievable without the aide of computers. However, some fascinating, and horrifying, statistics are presented in this infographic. It's worth checking out.

Before sharing a few of these, i’d like to point out just how we, as a human race, are so new to living with computers and the internet. The tools we have are so powerful, and we aren’t always very adept at seemlessly integrating such pervasive lifestyle changes. As with any drastic evolutions, there will be much suffering as we figure out how to not only just survive, but leverage modern technologies to help us be even more holistically healthier and happier than we could be without them.

That aside, here are just some of the statistics and facts, really i’d recommend checking out the infographic for the full experience. :

Collectively we spend 35 billion hours on the internet every month

We consume 3x as much information as we did in the 60’s

61% of people admit to being “addicted” to the web

Only 4% of the friends we have on Facebook, we’d hang out with in real life.

Heavy internet users are 2.5 times more likely to be depressed

I didn’t go through the trouble of fact checking these or all of the different statisics in this infographic, but I think most of them feel about right to me. Some of them are worded to sound much more scary than they really probably are, and many of them seem to imply causation when only correlation is known. For example:

Heavy internet users are 2.5 times more likely to be depressed

Are depressed people just more likely to use the internet heavily?

Do Computers Make Us Dumber? ∞

Are computers making us dumber? No, I don’t think so. Perhaps they are making us less prepared for a time that is passed, but it is exactly that - a time passed. Sure, it’s still great to be able to do math in your head, or have perfect spelling, or recall hundreds and thousands of memorized facts. But these skills, are no longer essential to being successful at solving relevant problems. This, by the way, is my definition of being “smart”, being able to solve relevant problems. I’d also probably add an element of time, so being smart is being able to solve relevant problems in a timely fashion.

By this definition, i’d argue that computers dramatically increase the intelligence of almost anyone that has a basic understanding of how they work. And I’d even go as far as to say that this includes many of the unhealthy cases of computer overuse and addiction. This viewpoint is of course in direct contrast to the parenthetical old person shaking their fist “You’ll rot your brain out!”, or even the much less extreme school teacher that refuses to incorporate computers of any form into their teaching style (I’m looking at you every math teacher i’ve ever met).

If I were to have to recommend either too much computer use or too little, i’d easily recommend too much. Having experience using a computer is just that important.

4 Seconds to Eternity ∞

Some of the statistics revealed by the study are mind-boggling in their demonstration of impatience. For example, one in four people abandons surfing to a website if its page takes longer than four seconds to load. That’s just four “Mississippis,” guys. Four in 10 Americans give up accessing a mobile shopping site that won’t load in just three seconds (which is roughly the time taken to read to the period at the end of this sentence). Crazy, given that shopping sites tend to have to be image-centric, and thus may take longer to load.

My opinion on this is that 4 seconds is an eternity in browsing time. It’s enough time that I stop waiting for the page and switch to a different tab/task. Returning to the page after it loads later isn’t very likely. Chances are i’ve moved on and found something that DOES load quick enough to satisfy my attention.

Of course this sounds really bad; it sounds like I can’t focus on the same thing for more than a few seconds. Now this may very well be true, but I think it’s also worth considering that when I start loading a web page I really don’t know how long it’s going to take. If I knew that it would simply take 4 seconds then I’d probably wait. But I don’t. Somewhere around 1,2 or 3 seconds I stop having any faith that the page will load at all or that it will take a significant amount of time to load.

There are also a few other factors at play. I’m much less patient when shopping. If a page takes forever to load (again 4+ seconds), then my trust level drops dramatically. Also, if it’s a website that expects my reoccuring visits (most sites are designed this way), then i’m going to be much less excited about getting involved if every time I visit the page it takes forever.

Very interesting article and full of similar statistics, so if this type of thing interests you, check it out by clicking the link above.

Exactly My Thoughts On Piracy ∞

The pragmatic approach is to address the demand.

This article by Marco Arment very clearly captures my exact viewpoints on the extent to which piracy CAN be addressed and solved. Go ahead, click the link above and read it. It’s worth it.

Professors and Doctors Spending Your Money? ∞

SCENARIO A You go to the doctor’s office and get a prescription. Later the pharmacist runs it through her computer and against your insurance–and hands you the bill. If it’s a brand-name med get ready for the sticker shock. I’ve had to pay $10 per pill, out of pocket, when I’ve been under my deductible. I know another patient who had a $300 course of eye drops prescribed when a $25 alternative existed–and his doctor had no idea.

SCENARIO B You go to class and pick up your syllabus for the semester. At the college bookstore you pick up one of the books that’s been assigned. Again: sticker shock ensues. I recently was assigned this flimsy, out-of-date paperback for one of my classes. It cost $80 and was in addition to a $100 textbook also on the syllabus. I wanted to ask the professor what she was thinking (or smoking?). But like the doctor who prescribes the pill, she probably has only a dim idea what it will cost me the student.

I’ve seen this in my own experience with professors, but i’ve never heard the doctor’s version of this “spend another’s money and give little to no thought about it” issue. So i’ve always wondered what professors were thinking when they were given a choice on book’s (It’s even worse when you are assigned a book that has 1/5 stars on Amazon with 9,365 reviews written), but do they give any thought into which book they choose? Additionally, are there any other factors at play? I talked to a professor who wanted to use an old edition because the content had barely changed, but the university bookstore rejected his book (they wouldn’t stock it), apparently it’s against school policy to include a book that isn’t available in the book store.

My theory is that it isn’t professors giving kickbacks to particular books and authors (although i’ve seen some of that as well), but it’s really the bookstores and backdoor university deals with publishers that are really corrupt.

Why Big Tech Companies Aren't Taking The Day Off ∞

Of course the Wikimedia Foundation doesn’t have any revenue to speak of, but what if other sites had made the same decision? We’ve put together a list of some of the Web’s major sites and figured out approximately how much they stood to lose, based on their annual revenue, if they had followed in Wikipedia’s footsteps.

Have you wondered why Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Groupon etc haven’t followed Wikipedia’s example in protesting SOPA? Google takes the cake with $100million. This article breaks down the estimated money each company would lose by shutting down for one single day. I guess they could all get together and put all that money into lobbying...

FYI: LWC would lose $0 dollars. I’m instead deciding to spend the day linking articles that raise awareness on SOPA.

Best Article to Read on SOPA? ∞

But the purpose of this article isn’t to explain what SOPA and PIPA will do. Instead, it’s about explaining what’s brought them about: SOPA and PIPA are prime examples of big companies trying to do everything they can to stop new competitors from innovating. They’re also examples of how lobbying in the United States has become one of the most effective ways of limiting this sort of competition.

In my opinion the best article to read on SOPA / PIPA.

Internet Addiction: You'll Turn Your Brain To Mush! ∞

Internet addiction disorder (IAD), also called problematic or pathological Internet use, is characterized by an individual’s inability to control his or her use of the Internet, which may eventually result in marked distress and functional impairments of general life such as academic performance, social interaction, occupational interest and behavioral problems [1]. The description regarding IAD is based on the definition for substance dependence or pathological gambling, which shares properties of substance dependence like preoccupation, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, distress and functional impairments [2], [3]. With the soaring number of Internet users, the problem of IAD has currently attracted considerable attention from psychiatrists, educators and the public; therefore IAD is becoming a serious mental health issue around the world [4], [5], [6].

This is taken from the introduction of an interesting research article that found that those of us suffering from internet addiction disorder (IAD) are actually altering our brains function and structure. The study is laying the groundwork for potential treatment (drugs, diagnosis etc).

Ironically I found this by indulging in my own internet addiction. It can just be so terribly hard to control how I use the internet! It's just so much.

Higher Education's Uncertain Future ∞

Graduation rates in the US have fallen, and states have slashed funding for higher education. As a result, public universities have raised tuition fees, and many are struggling to stay afloat during the recession. But two authors working in the US higher education sector claim that the academy has a bigger battle on the horizon: the “disruptive innovation” ushered in by online education.

This disruption, they say, will force down costs, lure prospective students away from traditional “core” universities, transform the way academics work, and spell the end for the traditional scholarly calendar based around face-to-face teaching.

Christensen and Eyring go on to discuss the “troubled waters” that higher education has in store. I couldn’t agree more. I don’t know how I feel about the specific details or the timeframe, but it’s quite plain to me that higher education is going to be seeing serious disruption in the near future. If you want to come to a similar conclusion, simply enroll at any of your respective state universities.

This isn’t to say that I don’t love much about the current system of higher education. It’s just to say that i’ve been there. It can be done better for cheaper. It will be slow at first, but take off fast. To see some of my other thoughts on this topic see this article.

"Let us be clear....We don't know what we're talking about" ∞

Let us be clear—online piracy is a real problem that harms the American economy, and threatens jobs for significant numbers of middle class workers and hurts some of our nation’s most creative and innovative companies and entrepreneurs. It harms everyone from struggling artists to production crews, and from startup social media companies to large movie studios. While we are strongly committed to the vigorous enforcement of intellectual property rights, existing tools are not strong enough to root out the worst online pirates beyond our borders.

I agree with this post that the White House’s recent response on SOPA has a number of key problems. The major problem is exactly what you read above. On first read I didn’t really catch it, but i knew something was wrong but i didn’t put my finger on it until Tim O’Reilly nailed it in the above link. The problem really is that the White House is failing to correctly identify the problem at hand.

This isn’t a surprising or even an original conclusion at all, but it’s definitely true. Notice that they slyly single out “middle class workers” as directly losing jobs . It then jumps into a list of types of people who are being harmed by piracy. It does this by not providing any evidence whatsoever that piracy has harmed any of these people.

I think the opposite is more likely. That piracy and a technological world that is founded on principles that make piracy possible are the driving force behind most ‘struggling’ artists and even to a large extent ‘middle class’ workers income levels. How is a ‘startup social media’ company going to compete with Youtube if SOPA passes? The first time someone submits a video that is copyrighted the website could suffer from being blacklisted. That could be a humongous obstacle to overcome. (Much more than the current process for submitting takedown requests).

SOPA and similar initiatives are going to continue promoting themselves as helping the “little guy”, the “middle class”, and “startup entreprenuers”. In reality, what helps each of these groups of people the most is when government stays out of what they can’t manage.

Quoting Tim Oreilly again:

P.S. If Congress and the White House really want to fight pirates who are hurting the economy, they should be working to rein in patent trolls. There, the evidence of economic harm is clear, in multi-billion dollar transfers of wealth from companies building real products to those who have learned how to work the patent system while producing no value for consumers.

Texting Alone Can't Raise Children ∞

When girls stressed by a test talked with their moms, stress hormones dropped and comfort hormones rose. When they used IM, nothing happened. By the study’s neurophysiological measures, IM was barely different than not communicating at all.

This difference in hormones and emotions makes communication an art and a science. When do you send a text message? When do you call and verbally talk to someone on the phone? It’s a fine line and it can be difficult to strike the right chord. Sometimes it’s all we can do to send a text message (it can be hard to control our emotions), but that text message is better than nothing or an irrational verbal phone call. Other times, we are actually doing ourselves and others a geat disservice by avoiding doing the right thing and calling someone directly and speaking with them.

TV Business To Change For The Better ∞

The survey, the results of which are being released Monday, just as the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show gets underway in Las Vegas, finds that the number of consumers who watch broadcast or cable television in a typical week plunged to 48% in 2011 from 71% in 2009.

As the saying goes:
“if you don’t like change, you are going to like irrelevance even less”

Dear Traditional TV,

You suck.

Love,
The Truth

Disrupting The American Education Model ∞

While students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology pay thousands of dollars for courses, the university will announce a new program on Monday allowing anyone anywhere to take M.I.T. courses online free of charge — and for the first time earn official certificates for demonstrating mastery of the subjects taught.

I’ve always been a fan of MIT’s iTunes University courses that have been freely available for years. Now they are offering some types of certifications (freely)? Wow. An excellent step in the right direction. Technology hasn’t really disrupted education yet, atleast the way it has other industries.

Consider Clayton Christensen’s definition of disruptive innovation:

“Generally, disruptive innovations were technologically straightforward, consisting of off-the-shelf components put together in a product architecture that was often simpler than prior approaches. They offered less of what customers in established markets wanted and so could rarely be initially employed there. They offered a different package of attributes valued only in emerging markets remote from, and unimportant to, the mainstream.”

MIT is wise to marry themselves to the changing model of education. Initially, virtual educational offerings won’t be enough for the mainstream. But that ineptitude is susceptible to rapid change. Traditional educational institutions would be wise to be very sensitive to these changes. Or else one day they will wake up and realize the value they provide can be downloaded into anyones brain for 1$. (or maybe just a less extreme but nonetheless disruptive version of this).

I think this could turn out being a classic case of “low-end disruption” :

“Low-end disruption” occurs when the rate at which products improve exceeds the rate at which customers can adopt the new performance. Therefore, at some point the performance of the product overshoots the needs of certain customer segments. At this point, a disruptive technology may enter the market and provide a product which has lower performance than the incumbent but which exceeds the requirements of certain segments, thereby gaining a foothold in the market.

If this is the case, it doesn’t bode well for the incumbents in education who are slow to adapt to the quick changing pace of the disruptors.

The incumbent will not do much to retain its share in a not so profitable segment, and will move up-market and focus on its more attractive customers. After a number of such encounters, the incumbent is squeezed into smaller markets than it was previously serving. And then finally the disruptive technology meets the demands of the most profitable segment and drives the established company out of the market.

So what can be done? Obviously, the educational system as we see it now has survived quite a number of technological iterations that have long threatened it with fairy tales of advanced technology. It’s easy to see the rationale behind ignoring every new fad and wave of technology that hasn’t panned out.

Again quoting wikipedia:

Christensen recommends that existing firms watch for these innovations, invest in small firms that might adopt these innovations, and continue to push technological demands in their core market so that performance stays above what disruptive technologies can achieve.

The Rising Importance of An Unfiltered Internet ∞

From a fascinating article by David Remnick from The New Yorker :

“I think that these elections are the last elections that will be controlled by television, and the next elections will be under the influence of the Internet,” she said.

Last February, after the uprising in Tahrir Square, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin revealed the Kremlin’s anxiety about the Internet. “Look what they have done in Egypt, those highly placed managers of Google,” he told the Wall Street Journal. Some officials in Putin’s circles have studied how China’s Communist Party bureaucracy has succeeded, through filtering systems, in blocking at least some critical material online. On the other hand, the authorities realize that at least forty million Russians are already online, with tens of millions more to come—and many of them are well educated, and perhaps less willing to tolerate curbs on their Internet browsing than, say, human-rights abuses in prisons or in faraway Chechnya and Dagestan. As it happened, on Election Day, Sunday, December 4th, a range of opposition Web sites—The New Times, Echo of Moscow, Bolshoi Gorod, slon.ru, Kommersant, and the site for the vote-monitoring group Golos—were shut down by cyber attacks.

Controlling the internet is big business. People in power are willing to pay top dollar to (or put a bullet in the head of) those capable of shaping the internet. Invasion of privacy, censuring freedom of speech, discrimination, conviction without trial, providing misinformation and other blatant indiscretions of personal liberty are being performed by those who have much to lose, and much to hide.

Women In Computer Engineering ∞

Robotics has also been a traditionally male-dominated clubhouse. But in the past two decades, a shift toward “socially aware machines” (social robotics) has drawn women to the field. As technology has enabled more sophisticated programmed behaviors, machines have evolved to interact with us by communicating through spoken words, gestures, and other social cues.

Technology without art and humanities isn’t very exciting to me. The fusion of these two requires that computer design, engineering and programming extends beyond the stereotypical male-nerd type.

In fact, a poll at the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show found that only 1% of women felt that manufacturers had them in mind when they were developing electronic products.

The Holy Grail: Part 1 ∞

What we have now is the ugliest advertising in the history of the media. I used to say that web sites looked like the walls of a third-world futbol stadium, but that was unfair to the stadiums. Most content sites look so bad they actually repel readers rather than attract them.

This great article on web advertising, content distribution, and the reading experience is brilliant. Well worth a read if you are interested in what’s happening to the online advertising business, and how to rise above the filth, both as a reader and a web creator.

Sopa and Politics ∞

The US government has regularly claimed that it supports a free and open Internet, both domestically and abroad. We cannot have a free and open Internet unless its naming and routing systems sit above the political concerns and objectives of any one government or industry.

The SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), is just the beginning of a future explosion of politics centered on computing and networking technology. I don’t think that technology issues will be the center of attention for the 2012 United States election. Probably not even the 2016. But within the next 5-10 years, online and computing policies will be the issues that an elected candidate will have to base their platform around.

Robots Replacing Factory Workers ∞

Automation poses a real threat to the factory worker – two armed robots like Nextage can perform many of the same tasks as a human, but only take as much money to run as powering a hair dryer. AIST and Kawada, the developers of Nextage, want to assuage the fears of the working class. Their robot is designed not to eliminate human laborers, but to work side by side with them.

The robots are clearly designed to replace human labor. The fears of the working class are justified. In the next 20 years, our globabl economy will retool and reshape itself. Some jobs will become significantly less valuable, others will certainly increase in value. That’s the way things are. I’m reminded of this great article I linked to earlier (also posted on The Singularity Hub).

The Internet Divide ∞

But they mask an emerging division, one that has worrisome implications for our economy and society. Increasingly, we are a country in which only the urban and suburban well-off have truly high-speed Internet access, while the rest — the poor and the working class — either cannot afford access or use restricted wireless access as their only connection to the Internet. As our jobs, entertainment, politics and even health care move online, millions are at risk of being left behind.

This article is a great read. I agree with stating the importance of reducing any internet divide that exists. However, I disagree with the author’s deduction that even those with DSL are being left behind from the general internet culture. The divide that I really believe is occurring is between those who know how to use internet for gain, and those who simply understand how to consume mindless content.

The Simple Life ∞

A great article from Matt Gemmell on simplicity in living with computers :

It’s just part of the search for simplicity, and focus, and elegance in life - which is something that creative people desperately need. Don’t remove yourself from contrary opinions and criticism (that’s how we grow), but be willing to take control of your environment.

Better Education Uses Technology: Test Taking For a Modern Age

December 9th, 2011

Education hasn’t properly adapted to the world around us. Technology is greatly outpacing the changes we are making to our formal educational system. Understanding is timeless, but an excellent education goes much further than basic comprehension. It is vital that we are taught how to synthesize large amounts of new data. It is crucial that we are taught how to use the most powerful tools available to us. Above all, it is essential that we are being prepared for living in the world in which we will live. It’s a moving target, but it’s important that we hit it.

I’d like to give a simple example of how I think we are missing this moving mark. It’s test taking. Typically, taking a test requires the testee to be isolated from their peer’s, books, notes, and especially using any technology, most particularly the internet. The idea is that if you do this, you will really be able to measure what the student knows.

However, with each passing year the “testing environment” becomes more and more absurdly contrived when compared with the reality that we are living in. It’s not hard to imagine a not so distant future where humans have further integrated technology right into their body. What then? Tests will require us to turn off part of our cyborg brain? To what end? This might sound extreme, but really it’s not too far off the current situation.

The typical argument for supporting a ridiculously unrealistic testing environment is to enforce a type of integrity. No access to internet means no ‘cheating’ right? This argument has some merit, but in my opinion it’s not nearly enough to justify this being our ‘go-to’ educational tool.

A better solution in my opinion is to teach (and therefore test): selection, attribution, contribution, application, and creativity. By which i mean the following:

Selection: The ability to filter, and discern great, credible, information from noise.

Attribution: The ability to properly document and articulate the sources that are being pulled from, and why.

Contribution: The ability to distribute and share work of value to a community of like minded individuals.

Application: How to take information and apply to solving a unique problem.

Creativity: Unique creation by reorganizing and combining existing information and ideas with unique ideas .

Testing based on these qualities allows for unlimited access to information, and modern computing tools. This means that our testing will better reflect the actual world we live in, and it will therefore be more valuable in determining qualified individuals.

It may seem like this would be difficult to implement (it probably is), but fortunately the tools we have to accomplish this are also drastically improving. But this requires that teachers rise to the challenge, and adapt technology in a way that they were never taught. Great teachers have never been as needed as they are now. It is their responsibility (not theirs alone, see my post on parents teaching their kids technology), to prepare students for an unknown (but certainly more advanced) culture and society.

Printing 3d Model Bones ∞

But, as 3D printers don’t normally handle CT scan images, Frame had to find a way to convert the images into a format the printers could use. And, of course, the final product had to be just as precise as those surgeons normally use. To accomplish this he used OsiriX, an image processing package specific for the kinds produced by imaging equipment, such as CT scanners. As OsiriX is open source software that runs on mac OS, Frame was able to use it free of charge. He then used a program called MeshLab – also open source, and free, for Mac – to clean up the image and make them medical quality. Finally, this image was sent to Shapeways for printing. Seven days later the model bone arrived in the mail. All for £77

Healthcare’s best chance at becoming affordable isn’t through mandate, politics, and government funding (although these could help), it’s going to happen by decreasing the actual underlying costs of providing expensive modern healthcare.

Art Genome ∞

Shahan Mufti writing for wired, discusses an exciting new technology similar to Pandora, or Apple’s Genius music matching, except it is for paintings and works of art :

“There are a few people who have a very strong emotionally negative reaction to this,” Cleveland says. He mimics the naysayers, putting on a pompously posh accent: “‘You can’t distill art down to a bunch of mathematical equations.’” But, Cleveland goes on, “it’s important to stress that the genome is fundamentally practical.” He doesn’t pretend to believe it can predict, on its own, that ineffable aesthetic connection between an artwork and a viewer. But it can make those connections more efficient. It has the potential to introduce each buyer to a wide range of artists and artworks, all of them related in some way and—this is key—most of them unknown and otherwise inaccessible to any but the most knowledgeable connoisseurs.

I wouldn’t want the ‘mathematical equations’ to take away from the magic and experience of art, but there is no denying the practicality of this. Also, in my opinion, the art world has made themselves intentionally unapproachable. They are far worse than music, movies, books, and poetry in adopting technology and new economic practices and business models that remove barriers to enjoyment, and possession of original content. This type of technology is a step in the write direction. The article is certainly worth a read.

Bill to Allow Telemarketers to Call Cells ∞

This proposed legislation is so far-reaching that Sen. Chuck Schumer said that if it passes, “The floodgates would be open to telemarketers, who could call you on your cell phone during breakfast, lunch, dinner, no matter if you’re at home, at school, at the office.”1

You should click the link above and sign the petition. It might be annoying to take 5 minutes of your time and sign, but consider a hundred future phonecalls on your cell phone, and the annoyance that will be. Can you believe this is even being considered? Computers and technological enhancements should improve the quality of life. Telemarketers being able to call my cell, doesn’t improve the quality of my life, regardless of what corporate lobbyists are telling congress.

Software Patenting Comes to Medical World ∞

Timothy B. Lee from Ars Technica reporting:

This should make the nation’s doctors extremely nervous. For two decades, the software industry has struggled with the harmful effects of patents on software. In contrast, doctors have traditionally been free to practice medicine without worrying about whether their treatment decisions run afoul of someone’s patent. Now the Supreme Court seems poised to expand patent law into the medical profession, where it’s unlikely to work any better than it has in software.

Fascinating. And Absurd. I imagine a future conversation:

“Hurry Johnson! Submit the patent on performing the Heimlich Maneuver”,
“but sir, won’t patenting that require massive amounts of needless legality, licensing, and implementation work? How will we defend ourselves against massive corporations? Not to even get into the morality issues…”.
“No! You dummy! Don’t you know anything about patents? We’ll just sit on it! Blocking our competitors, and nickel and diming the few defenseless that we are able to extort for money…..And you call yourself a patent troll….”

Perhaps the members of the Supreme Court will change their tune the next time they are refused a universally known method for saving their life because company X is refusing to license the “patented procedure” to hospital Y. You think pirating software is popular now? What do you think would happen if you made it a life and death question? You know, kill anyone who doesn’t have the latest Lady Gaga album on their computer…..

FlipBoard ∞

Consuming content on the web has drastically matured from the early days on the web, to full native, full screen, interactive and immersive apps. Developers are ‘reimagining’ what it means to pull data from the web and how to display it in a form that is delightful to it’s users. I can think of no better example of this than the incredible iPad App, and recently announced iPhone app, Flipboard. I’ts a free App.

Mouse and Keyboard Made of Bamboo! ∞

There is nothing like the natural feel of wood to soothe you when your re sitting at your desk. Lets face it, if keyboards are our new musical instruments, this keyboard is like a Stradivarius!

If green computing interests you. Then you should probably click the link above. I have no affiliation with these guys, but I definitely support their idea to make keyboards and mice out of biodegradable materials. Furthermore, i love the feel of raw materials that are honest in design. This is in direct contrast to electronic devices that pretend to look like metal, but are really just painted plastic.

Great computer device design begins with trust. And then the relationship increases with daily use that has a great feel, form, and function to it. These are the types of products that make technology a natural extension of our human selves.

Curing Cancer Requires Computer Scientists ∞

Came across this great article from last December:

Fortunately for the rest of us, the cost of turning pieces of DNA into digital information has improved: The costs dropped a hundredfold in the last three years. The tipping point before widespread use is believed to be $1,000 per individual genome, which is a reason for the major investment in reducing its cost. Given such dramatic improvement, we could soon afford to sequence the genomes of the millions of cancer patients, which only billionaires could afford a few years ago.

The article goes on to list several of the ways that researchers are hoping that computer scientists will help cure cancer.

Sexting ∞

Ars Technica takes Sexting from 20% to 1% :

With all the stories about sexting in the news, it’s easy to see it everywhere. But 20 percent of kids? Could the data possibly be correct? The responses to the survey came from an Internet panel, not a true random, national sample, so there was reason to suspect the quality of the numbers.

….

Answers have varied, but the new study tries to sort out the mess. Its strictest definition involves kids taking pics of themselves that show “naked breasts, genitals, or bottom.” Only one percent of respondents have taken such photos, which might be considered child pornography, but 5.9 percent of kids have received one. (These numbers go up a bit if “non-explicit” pictures are included.)

“We are the 1%!” takes on a whole new meaning. These numbers are as low today as they are ever going to be.

How to Defend Carrier IQ

December 3rd, 2011

In case you wanted to write your own article defending Carrier IQ, i’ve written these simple steps you can follow so your writing will be as good as any i’ve seen around the web.

Step 1 : Find and list extreme examples of other services or products that can also collect personal information. Exclude the ones that present a poor image, you know, malware, illegal wiretaps, peeping tom’s, etc.

Step 2 : Simply forget to mention that most users with Carrier IQ installed can’t remove it from their phone, and can’t turn it off. (Unlike some of the examples you used in step 1) Especially forget to mention the importance of whether any of these services ever notified the user of this information gathering practice.

Step 3 : You need to at least hint that anyone who’s concerned with massive amounts of information gathering is probably a wild crackpot conspiracy theorist.

Step 4 : Present the idea that if Carrier IQ has done anything at all wrong it’s probably just their new foray in handling people in the media. But who really knows how to handle the media anyway?

Now for the big conclusion:

Step 5 : Paint a horrifying picture of how much users will be influenced if Carrier IQ wasn’t around with their powerful draconian ‘diagnostic tools’. You need to really drive home the idea that Carrier IQ is gathering all of this information simply to provide you (the consumer) with the best possible user experience and to protect you. Dropped call when you are trying to call 911 because a bunch of criminals are stealing all your personal stuff that they have no right to even be looking at? Well, it’s probably because you didn’t let Carrier IQ do their job.

Shame on you. Shame on you.

Information Gathering Practices ∞

This is an interesting article, particularly considering the recent witch hunt involving Carrier IQ (Few people are more interested in grabbing a pitch fork over this then me by the way. It’s been fun to watch, and i’m still keeping a close eye on it.), but I found myself oddly in agreement with this discussion on the need for more information gathering practices to dictate policy regarding information systems.

But even as the need and desire to enact some degree of Internet regulation has increased, we haven’t gotten much better at understanding what is actually happening online, which would be a cornerstone of intelligent regulation. This situation is compounded by “the extent to which policy-makers ignore the good data we do have,” in favor of a tendency to act out of fear and inspired by anecdotes. “A few million dollars’ worth of research infrastructure,” Palfrey and Zittrain suggest, “could help prevent billion-dollar policy mistakes.”

…

In other words, we can get policymakers all the information they need to make informed decisions, but that’s no guarantee that they, or the electorate that drives their votes, will want to act on that information.

Private corporations seem to have no trouble making use of valuable information and data.

Government to Screw Over IT Professionals? ∞

The senate is considering a new bill which includes the following:

Section 13(a)(17) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(17)) is amended to read as follows:

(17) any employee working in a computer or information technology occupation (including, but not limited to, work related to computers, information systems, components, networks, software, hardware, databases, security, internet, intranet, or websites) as an analyst, programmer, engineer, designer, developer, administrator, or other similarly skilled worker, whose primary duty is–

(A) the application of systems, network or database analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine or modify hardware, software, network, database, or system functional specifications;

(B) the design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing, securing, configuration, integration, debugging, modification of computer or information technology, or enabling continuity of systems and applications;

(C) directing the work of individuals performing duties described in subparagraph (A) or (B), including training such individuals or leading teams performing such duties; or

(D) a combination of duties described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), the performance of which requires the same level of skill;

who is compensated at an hourly rate of not less than $27.63 an hour or who is paid on a salary basis at a salary level as set forth by the Department of Labor in part 541 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations. An employee described in this paragraph shall be considered an employee in a professional capacity pursuant to paragraph (1).’

I can see some slight upsides for some system admins out there (perhaps a higher hourly pay to avoid paying time and a half), but in general I think that this bill entirely misses the mark in helping progress the IT profession. When a network or system dumps out, system admins are required to work around the clock in fixing the problem. You think they are going to do that when they aren’t getting compensated? Unlikely.

The Flow of Computer Addiction ∞

This article written in response to recent computer gaming addiction attention in the media (see here, also see my earlier link here making fun of the fox news article here), Written by Tarina White from The Cairns Post is a more sensible article :

Dr Pace refers to the addiction as a phenomenon called “flow”, in which the mind is intently focused on a pleasurable activity to the exclusion of all else.

“Flow is experienced in forms other than online and video games addictions, such as with athletes who become obsessed about training for hours at a time,” he said. “They lose awareness of the passing of time.”

This is more inline with my own experience with both video ‘gaming addiction’, and other passionate pursuits that can easily turn unhealthy.

Dr Kidd said most children with an online gaming addiction or internet addiction responded well to caring parental intervention.

Html5 vs 'Shit-Ass' ∞

Reading Daring Fireball and The Loop’s recent articles on ‘shit-ass’ websites that require 3-6MB to load, caused me to dig into the process of measuring the resources that websites require and do some investigating. First, I will explain the process of using developer tools to measure the sizes and number of requests of the different websites you use.

On Chrome: simply click “view>Developer Tools>”. A bottom panel will popup. Click on the ‘Network’ tab, for the measuring. Now load pages that you are interested in measuring.

On Safari: Go to preferences: Advanced: check “Show Develop menu in menu bar”, now go to “Develop>Show Web Inspector” from the menu bar. Again click the network tab.

Using either Chrome or Safari, it is quite easy to see the amount transferred and the number of requests. It's the number in the bottom left corner. Try visiting some of your more commonly visited websites, and you will be amazed.

*Also, be aware that browsers are likely to cache websites so the first time you load a page is the most accurate, although many are still extremely high on simple reloads.

Looking around the web I came to a few conclusions:

1 - The sites that I actually enjoy using are usually under a couple hundred KB, maybe as high as 600-800KBish. They are quick to load, easy to read and navigate, and don’t flood my senses with horrendous advertising. Yes. It’s a noticeable difference between a 200KBish compared to 3-6 MB. And I have the most reliable and expensive internet offered in my city.(imagine the horrors of using a limited data plan and regularly reading Boy Genius Report!)

2 - Sites don’t have to be simply text to sip on data. Being employed in a profession where I regularly use html 5 libraries, i was interested to see how they stacked up. I loaded Sencha Touch’s kitchen sink demo (every feature they have minus the kitchen sink) and was astonished that it loaded with only a couple KB’s.(A webkit browser is required: Chrome and Safari, or most mobile browsers to name a few)

This ios/native appearing site has animations, menus, panels, toolbars, and more. After clearing the cash, I had a 1 time load of around 500KB, but then right back down to just a couple KB for each load request. Naturally, if web developers can muck up regular websites, it’s just a matter of time before we are seeing html 5 apps that are just as bad with slow loading, blinking advertisements, etc. But at least, it’s encouraging to see such a small footprint is possible. (measuring my own Sencha Touch Webapp/sites resulted in numbers VERY similar to kitchen sink).

For another look at a sencha touch app (designed for touch displays), check out Kiva’s great webapp (Kiva is a non-profit site that allows you to pay varying amounts of money to 3rd-world entrepreneurs to help them get started, they work to be able to pay you back, check it out)

In case you are wondering -

LivingWithComputers.com's homepage gave: 13 requests ❘ 74.96KB transferred on first load, after clearing the cache of my browser.

Update: kiva's webapp doesn't download a lot of data, but I find it's sencha loading to populate the table to be too slow.

Hacking Water Conclusion ∞

Facinating followup on the alleged ‘water hacking’ attack on an American water utility pump. I wrote about it here and again here. This mosly conclusive followup reveals what caused the fear of a foreign based hacking attack on American infrastructure, and how it was unfounded fear that spread like wildfire. For a story about a non-story, there are several interesting take aways.

“If you can’t trust the information coming from a fusion center, what is the purpose of having the fusion center sending anything out? That’s common sense,” he said. “When you read what’s in that [report] that is a really, really scary letter. How could DHS not have put something out saying they got this [information but] it’s preliminary?”

Additionally, I am still interested in the vulernability of our infrastructure to such attacks in the future, and what is being done to eliminate such flaws. The reason people took this so seriously wasn’t the specific attack, but the idea that such an attack could be perpetrated out on a larger, more significant scale, and at a more significant time. Are we still vulnerable?

Furthermore, the idea that we should be comforted by more or less, “Don’t worry! We were just too dumb to look at the usernames of people logging in”, does little to reduce fears and speculation.

Pathological Internet Misuse ∞

Fox news article on computer addiction:

The condition known as “pathological Internet misuse” is growing so rapidly among adolescents and young adults that it could soon be formally recognized as a mental health disorder.

Shouldn’t the phrase “pathological Internet misuse” be reserved for parents of 13 year old kids who allow their kid to not go to school, play world of warcraft all day, and then google “internet addiction” only to find the first Fox news article that’s written to remove responsibility from them?

Instapaper Works For Me ∞

This blog post by Marco Arment is a great read, i’m a big fan of his creation Instapaper (iOS App and web service). I also read much of what he’s written in the last 6 months on his blog. In addition, I listen to his podcast on 5by5 called Build and Analyze.

Marco writes :

Previous-me tried to persuade everyone to switch to my setup, but I now know that it’s not worth the effort. I’ll never know someone else’s requirements, environment, or priorities as well as they do. I don’t know shit about Windows or Outlook or architecture.

You should use whatever works for you. And I no longer have the patience or hubris to convince you what that should be. All I can offer is one data point: what I use, and how it works for me.

It’s so easy to get into the mindset of telling other people what setup they should use for their technology. I try to write in the general for this blog, and yet still be comfortable writing about what works for me, it doesn’t always work out for me. Even more so, in my mind i’m much less forgiving, i’m almost always screaming loudly about people who I think should know better that use the most asinine setup.

But I fall into the category of people marco hints at who still think they know everything. I’m young and hungry. Always looking to find what’s best.

Instapaper works for me. Reading articles on poorly made me-too’s and even worse horrifically designed websites doesn’t.

Nerd Yoga ∞

Jessie Tierney from Yoga For Nerds:

Slumpers, slouchers and hunchers abound in our techno-savvy and computer-centric culture. Many of us spend more hours of the day hunching at a computer, slouching in the car, curled over our cellphones and seated at a desk than humans were ever meant to. Then, we go home to slump in front of the TV, droop over a Kindle, or hunch over our books.

This site has many articles on yoga, particularly as they relate to nerds and other desk bound folk. I like the drawings, and it’s a clean reading experience.

Forgetting You Are Human

November 28th, 2011

The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers. ~Sydney J. Harris

Unlike humans, computers are capable of running 24 hours a day with almost minimal cost. Computers can do this 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. Humans simply cannot keep up. We may try to pump our bodies with morning coffee, loading up on sugar in the afternoon, or taking late night energy drinks, but eventually we will lose this battle everytime. Additionally, we often delude ourselves into thinking that simply being awake, and in front of a computer means that we (like the computer we are using) are good to go.

Unfortunetly, reality isn’t on our side. Putting aside our humanity, in pursuit of mimicking the unwavering functionality of a computer, most often results in premature death, and mediocre results.

Sound harsh? What do you think scientific studies are suggesting about people who suffer from stressful lifestyles, extreme inactivity, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and poor diets? At best (if they are in the minority), they find happiness, but almost always they do so while living shorter lives, and being less productive.

The amount of time we spend on computers, is extremely unlikely to go down in the upcoming years, most likely it will continue to rise. I’m certainly not proposing it should go down. I love spending large amounts of time on the computer.

I am, however, proposing that we discover how to best operate in a world filled with machines and computers. This can mean going crazy sometimes and pushing yourself to the human limits, but much more often it will include more thoughtout decisions and habits. The healthy sustainable habits that you create will maximize the amount of time you have to be the best human possible. As a result, you will live longer and be more capable.

Frequent breaks, taking walks, working out, doing yoga in the morning, and eating a balanced breakfast, are some basic examples of things that I love to do that my computer doesn’t seem to particularly care for. Investing in a naturally lit workspace, finding a comfortable, ergonomic chair and desk, and social recreation are additionally attentive to my human needs. It’s different for all people, but the common thread here is that you are addressing your wants and needs to promote healthy sustainable living.

Modern Thermostat ∞

Brett Terpstra’s first impressions on the ‘apple-like’ Nest thermostat. Perhaps, you’ve seen the video introducing this cool device. Well Brett’s review is a great place to start in determining if you too should try this in your home.

Producing Your Best

November 27th 2011

It’s easy to lust after the latest and greatest computer gadgetry. After all, it is the holiday season, and shopping is at an all time frenzy. We are bombarded by a maximum amount of stimuli to buy the newest wiz bang computing device. As a self claimed technology enthusiast, I subject myself to constant temptation by reading all of the cutting edge spec sheets, marketing, and blog reviews. Even taking great effort to put together entire wish lists of hardware and software that would bring me so much joy and happiness! Of course, this does nothing to help me produce.

Like the person with a bow-flex in storage, and no bow-flex body to go along with it, I’ve come to learn that it’s not really the technology you have, it’s how you use it. The worlds greatest literature, websites, applications, programming, art, animation, movie or music, could most likely be created on last years average computer. In fact, most of it was. Furthermore, much of it was probably made without a computer.

Now before you get me all wrong, I don’t think you should throw out your computer, whip out a feather and some ink and start writing the next classic on animal skins, without the aid of modern writing software, hardware, and collaboration tools and services (you certainly could, and some do). But my greater point here is that computers don’t produce great products, people getting the most out of their computers do. It’s easy to get distracted, and forget this idea.

People in fact, can get so distracted and turned around that they would be better off without even having a computer at all.

So what can be done? How do we incorporate a computer into being our best producing selves? Even if a computer isn’t hurting us, certainly, we can make more with the technology we have? Right?

Yes, I believe so. Unfortunately for many, the answers to these questions aren’t based on shortcuts, downloaded software, fancy new hardware, secret hacks, or new self-help productivity tips (all things I do enjoy btw). No. Deep personal responsibility, care, inquiry, and focused attention will get you started. Constructive criticism, perspiration, and intentionally formed habits will make you a master producer. And finally, pulling inspiration from the world, exercising creativity, learning from others, personal sacrifice, and strokes of luck/genius, are all required to take you to your greatest heights.

This is how you make the most of your producing self. It can’t be purchased on clearance at a black friday sale. Great production comes the same way that those before us produced, by making the most of the tools they had. Fortunately, we stand on their shoulders. Even our simplest, oldest, cheapest tools are far greater, there are more producers to learn from and help each other than ever before, and the power of technology is that you can share your creations with more people than ever before.

If this topic interests you, try reading Tips For Producing, and consider following me on twitter.

Follow @CharlesLWC

Great Online Reading Experiences ∞

I was there because I just wanted to read something. Words. Black text on a white background, more-or-less. And what I saw — at a professional publication, a site with the purpose of giving people something good to read — was just about the farthest thing from readable.

Excellent article on the frustrations that too often come from trying to read information online. There are good sites and then there are bad. Rewarding the good ones with your returning eyes, and advertising dollars is the best way I know to promote continued positive website creation.

Relationships: Enhanced, or Destroyed by Technology

November 26th, 2011

All modern marriages and relationships are faced with integrating technology into the partnership. The importance of this, has been on a steep rise for the last 10 years. The way that we communicate with people, the way that we consume entertainment, and the way that we spend our time is greatly influenced by the internet. Our relationships are greatly altered by technology.

Obviously, these influences can be either good or bad. Many relationships have been destroyed by improper web communication, pornography, and/or addiction. On the other hand, an increasing number of relationships have been created because of interactions online.

This intermingling of good and bad, can make it difficult to give credible advice. But I will try and give some insight to building healthy positive relationships online.

Integration

It can be easy to decide to entirely separate your real life from your virtual life. You have your online friends, and activities, and then you have your real life friends, families, and activities. This idea has some merit, obviously, it can be enjoyable to stay in touch with old friends on Facebook, or associate with people who live in a different place and culture. You are simply unable to interact with these people in any other way. This part of world segregation can be extremely enjoyable. And the ability to interact with complete strangers is what gives the internet so much power.

These qualifiers aside, consider tightly integrating your most important relationships with real life interaction AND virtual communications. Find ways to share your online self with your offline wife/husband/significant other. If your relationship with that person significantly lives online, take it offline. I recommend integrating these two worlds because, you live in both worlds. It’s who you are. Not sharing this part of you, will slowly distance you from those in your life that you care about. In addition, sharing these parts of you, can take a relationship to new heights, and levels of enjoyment.

Curation

Curate and use only the best web experiences. There are many services, websites, and methods of interacting with people that are complete garbage. Upon finding them, discard them and never think twice. Exposing your closest relationships to cheap, unfiltered, untested, and uncultured services will likely not bring you closer. There is too much good out there to justify using bad services. Use the best the web has to offer. Chances are, it will be simple, secure, and rich in culture.

Varied

Don’t limit yourself. Don’t make the mistake of being too linear. The best relationships are a complex weaving of shared unique experiences and understandings. If the only way that you’ve expressed your feelings to another person is with typed words, try sharing a photo that expresses how you feel. Try new things, and don’t be afraid to experiment with technology in your relationships.

Computer technology is just in it’s infancy, and love has been around forever. Putting the two together is an exciting challenge that we all have before us. You are the pioneers that are tasked with synthesizing the modern era with your families, and lovers.

If this topic interests you, try reading An Unqualified, NonParent, Computer Enthusiast’s Opinion On Teaching Kids Technology: Part 1, and consider following me on twitter.

Follow @CharlesLWC

Sleep Vs Internet

November 26th 2011

According to a survey conducted by Sky Broadband (a british internet service provider), 1 in 4 people spend more time on the internet than they spend sleeping each day. Now compare that with this chart (It’s a chart showing the average breakdown of the day of an American). In this second chart there isn’t a separate category for “time spent on the internet”. But looking at each of the categories, and it’s not hard to see where the 1/4 number comes from.

If you are like me, then your work consists of time spent online, leisure activities consists of time spent online, even household activities or bathroom time can easily be spent catching up on a web article or watching a streaming movie.

Additionally, the original survey says 32% of people check their email 6 times a day. While 5% of people check their email 20+ times a day.

So what do all of these numbers suggest? That we are using the internet too much? That we aren’t sleeping enough? That our email is really really important? Maybe? I really don’t know the answers to these questions.

The conclusion that I do come to when seeing these types of numbers, is just how important it is to develop computer habits that will lead to happiness, productivity, and meaningful relationships. Learn to get enjoyment out of the time we do spend online (even if it's an absurd amount), and learn to control the specific activities that we are doing. It takes time, hard work, and understanding to learn to harness such powerful tools. But it’s never been more important.

If this topic interests you, check out my article Tips For Producing, additionally I invite you to follow me on twitter

Follow @CharlesLWC

Computer Automation Destroys Economy? ∞

A great article that introduces the economic fears of computer automation displacing human jobs. I tend to believe that our job market is more flexible, and that it will withstand the future reshaping. It won’t be painless though, and it is worth keeping our eye on this future issue.

Second, we may simply transition away from production and service jobs. Just as the bulk of our workforce has shifted from hunting/gathering to farming to crafts to manufacturing to service, it could continue on to entrepreneurship. Owning capital, and developing it, could be the job of the future. Already we’ve seen how open source projects can help you become a mini manufacturing, information, software or robotics mogul.

An Unqualified, NonParent, Computer Enthusiast's Opinion On Teaching Kids Technology: Part 1

November 23, 2011

How young is too young to get your kids started with computers? Parents often wonder how to teach their kids about computers. On this topic, everyone is mostly clueless, because most people didn’t grow up with complete computer access as a kid. Likely you didn’t have a cell phone when you were a kid, you didn’t have the internet when you were a kid. So what can you use as an example for teaching your own kids?

I really don’t have a very good answer on this. But I do have some thoughts that I think are legitimate. Because of the direction that our society, economy, and culture is going, understanding computers is even more important for the next generation than our own. It is the ‘reading’ of yesteryear (or century, as it be). A kid grown up in the oncoming future will NOT understand the world he lives in without some pretty thorough hands on computer experience.

Like reading, spending time with your children, and specifically teaching them new skills on their/your computers and gadgets is a great idea. If you don’t know much about computers, take the time to figure it out together.

Do this for a several reasons :

1) Likely your kids will end up spending a significant portion of their future lives teaching you new things about technology. You might as well get used to the process, and put yourself on the good side of their future tech savvy.

2) You have the opportunity to additionally impart values and good taste in adopting new technology and computer interactions (Leave them to learn these things on their own and they might not be so lucky).

3) You will likely develop a positive relationship with your kid that will stand the impending generational gap that is likely to come in an even larger way that in the generations past (technological changes in our world aren’t linear, they are accelerating. Any differences between you and your own parents abilities/tech worlds, is likely to be an order of magnitude greater with your own kids. Especially if you do little/nothing.)