Rotten Apples

Nice to know that everyone makes mistakes and it turns out that Apple is no different, and this could be a doozy.  From what I understand, Apple has secured the iPad trademark from many companies and they (allegedly) thought that they had secured it in China from a company that had previously trademarked it but the company that owned the trademark has claimed that this isn't the case.

There seems to be a wide variety on legal opinions on how big of a battle this will be.  As of right now, iPads are currently illegal in China. Being a hotbed of technology, this is somewhat of a problem.  The bigger problem though is not only is this affecting sales in China, but from what I understand, a pretty significant portion of the iPad is made in China as well.

Now, I think it's safe to assume that this will eventually be settled.  This Chinese company is currently going through some rough times, and it's being suggested that Apple may have to tithe a billion or two to resolve this little squabble.

This just has to fall under the banner of corporate oversights - and it's certainly not a minor one!

The TecHumanity Theme Song!

I heard this song on my satellite radio and I thought that this will be just a perfect into/theme song should I ever get into webcasting my blogs via YouTube - or become an internationally famous blogger/expert!

The song is Everybody's on the Phone by Jimmy Buffett and I think that this is just perfect!  There's one line in particular that I think is so appropriate - Everybody's on the phone - so connected and all alone. There is a lot of wisdom in that one line.

Here's the lyrics should you choose to sing along.

Message in a bottle, rhythm of a drum 
Smoke signals and telegraphs make the airwaves hum 
But that's all ancient history like bongs and Lincoln Logs 
Now we livin' like the Jetsons in a wireless wacky fog 
Squawkin' talkin' hawkin' who knows if anybody's gettin' through 

Toasters talk to crackberries, Bombay to L.A. 
Teenage needs and long-held dreams as minutes tick away 
We act like crazy people talking to ourselves 
Crashing cars in conversation while that shit flies off the shelf 
The information superhighways locked up like a L.A. traffic jam 

Everybody's on the phone 
So connected and all alone 
From the pizza boy to the socialite 
We all salute the satellites 
Let me text you with your master plan 
You're loud and clear but I don't understand 
I'm a digital explorer in analog roam 
And everybody's on the phone 

Do you remember dialing up? 
Yes I remember well 
Now I just can't go anywhere with out my sacred cell 
I think that I might die if I miss anything at all 
Text me, send me an e-mail, bring me up, give me a call 
I'm ADD on AOL tryin to read the writing on the wall 

Everybody's on the phone 
So connected and all alone 
From the pizza boy to the socialite 
We all salute the satellites 
Let me text you with your master plan 
You're loud and clear but I don't understand 
I'm a digital explorer in analog roam 
And everybody's on the phone 

Now I'm a real jungle jump up 
I'm a megahertz man 
I swing from tree to tree on the very latest plan 
On the download and the dropouts 
On every major city across the land 
I got my Marley on my ringtone, getup, standup, reachout, touch somebody band 

Everybody's on the phone 
So connected and all alone 
From the pizza boy to the socialite 
We all salute the satellites 
Let me text you with your master plan 
You're loud and clear but I don't understand 
I'm a digital explorer in analog roam 
And everybody's on the phone 

Can you hear me? 
Can you hear me now? 
I gotta get over by the beerstand 
Oh shit my batteries are going 
I'll call you back 

The Wireless Explosion

There's just a mind-boggling article on PC World today on the expected explosion of wireless traffic over the next four years.

The article estimates that by 2016, that wireless traffic will average approximately 10.8 exabytes per month.  The scary thing is that I didn't know what an exabyte is so I read further in the article and one exabyte is one billion gigabytes.  This is per month, not per year.  This is an 18 fold increase over the average monthly bandwidth now.

It then goes on to estimate that in a year that the total wireless network traffic will be approximately 130 billion gigabytes.  To give this extreme number some context, the average DVD holds about 4.7 gigabytes of data, so this would be the equivalent of about 28 billion DVDs worth of data floating through the air (and I'd guess through our collective bodies too!.

Another interesting tidbit, the article estimates that wireless connections will exceed wired connections by 2015.  I would not be surprised at all if it's sooner.  I did a quick calculation in my own home and I have the following devices connected via WiFi: one notebook, one Playstation 3, 3 cell phones, one tablet PC, two Nintendo DS gaming systems and one printer.  That's 9 devices.  It's no wonder that when there's a power failure we barely know what to do with ourselves!

To close off of this article with one last fact, which I think more than anything else demonstrates the proliferation of technology in our lives, the spellchecker in this article flagged exabyte as a spelling mistake.  Apparently, even our electronic dictionaries can keep pace!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/249922/mobile_explosion_wireless_traffic_could_reach_108_exabytes_a_month_by_2016.html#tk.rss_news

The Old "You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression" Lesson Learned...

...and for me, this lesson is to NOT totally depend on technology to do my "dirty work".  Case in point,  a couple of days ago, I needed to write 3 very specific emails within a time limit.  Typically, I am an extra-ordinarily good proof-reader - primarily with spelling, but also to a lesser extent with wording.  I am best when I'm not rushed - I know that.

Anyways, the mistake that I made was that the spell-checker on my Yahoo was turned on so I figured that between my eagle eyes and the spell-checker, I wouldn't have any spelling mistakes.  Well, there were a couple of errors that I discovered after the fact.  Not spelling errors, but typing errors.  I shoulda woulda coulda checked to make sure that my spell-checker was turned on.

Speaking of which, I'm not seeing and red-squiggles on this blog entry, let me run the spell-check before publishing.  Duh - Rick - totally duh!

Waxing Nostagically in the Technological Age

I know for any generation, there are challenges as it relates to accepting and adjusting to technological advances.  To a certain extent, we all learn to put the past behind us and to embrace the change as it leads us to different ways of doing things.

However, as is often the case, everyone has their little things from yesteryear that they miss.

For me, it's two types of experiences, going to the library and browsing through the video store.
The library so much isn't as much of an issue.  I love the convenience of being able to read online - and hey - there's nothing stopping me from visiting the library.  It's something that I do often and it's just such a different experience from browsing through books online.

The one that I really miss though is the experience of going to the video store.  The days of Roger's Video and Blockbuster brick and mortar sites are long gone.  There are some specialty mom and pop type stores, but it's just not the same.

Don't get me wrong, I just love the convenience of being to rent through my digital TV, and with my satellite TV subscription, I even get access to movies on the computer.  There's no question that I do not miss the "oh damn, I forgot to return the video" feeling the morning after.

But it's just not the same for me.  There was something very charming for me to be able to walk up and down the aisles - to go along the perimeter for a new release or perhaps to go browsing through a specific genre.  The thrill of "yes!  There's one last copy of <insert popular movie here>" and feeling like I just got lucky.  I loved picking up a case of some movie I had never heard of and read the back and just take a chance. 

It is, what it is - I guess.  I don't have to accept or like it though.  I'm going to pout and complain about this.  That is until I get home and I go and continue watching any of the three movies that I  have stored on my PVR that I've been recording.

So I like to eat my cake and have it too - I'm entitled!

3D Printing

A couple of months ago, I marvelled at a new innovation referred to as 3D printing.  I won't go through the details of the blog entry or to describe the technology as it can be found in this entry: Caught with my Technological Shorts Down.  In this entry, I talk about one of the areas that I can see this being a very viable and valuable technology - that area being the medical industry.

Lo and behold, earlier this week, there was an article on PC World on exactly this topic:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/249359/3d_printers_now_print_human_body_parts.html. 

 An elderly lady had a very bad jaw infection and due to her age, they could not fix it in the traditional methods, so that scanned her existing lower jaw - all of it - and printed her a new jaw. 

This is just mind-blowing and the more that I read about this technology, the more that I believe that it has (and is!) revolutionizing our society.

The very scary thing is that I think that this is literally just the tip of the iceberg. 

A Stick Is Just a Stick

..and sometimes a stick is something much more.

 A stick is just a stick…until it’s rubbed against another stick to spark a fire - then it becomes a source of heat.

A stick is just a stick…until it’s rapped against a rock – then it becomes a percussion instrument.

A stick is just a stick…until it’s used by a primate to scoop out ants – then it becomes a tool.

A stick is just a stick…until one end is notched and one end is pointed – then it becomes a weapon.

As I came into work this morning, I came up with this metaphor and I realized that this concept works just as well with our current computer based technology.  The very general point to this article is that the true driving force behind the tools is the thought process behind the tool – even more-so than the physical attributes of the tool.   As the context of a stick can be changed based on its intended purpose, such is also the case for our modern technology.

A computer is just an object manufactured of plastic, metals and other components.  What drives the success of our technology is the thought and the imagination of what tools we need; how the tools will be used and how they will need to be designed by their intended use.

As much as the physical components of our technology are critical, they are really just the ends to a mean – a way of delivering the creativity to fruition.  Without this creative process and the need and ability to solve problems, none of this technology would exist.

To continue on with the stick, I imagine that way “back in the day” before there were primates, then a stick truly was just a stick.  The broken off branch on the ground was just that and nothing more, there were no ancillary uses for it.

I can’t imagine the revolution or the process that started off with the realization that rubbing two sticks together caused a spark which can be used to start a fire.  The course of our history was changed with that one innovation.

In the same ways, as we speed down the technological path of our modern times, we too are starting those branches, the divides where the future historians will look back to 2012 and say “Look !  This is where it all started!  This is where _____  all came from”.

The challenge that we have as a society is how do we ensure that the path that we take is best?  How do we ensure that our collective brains create new technologies with minimal disadvantage?

I would hazard a guess that “most” scientists and visionaries keep this in mind as they think through possible solutions.   However, even in the most innocent situations, the intended use of a technology can be bastardized to create harm.

It would be too idealistic to expect that all technological advances are good, but that’s not necessarily the case.

The best solution that I can think of is to always remain a skeptic – to say to one’s self “gee, that’s a really interesting technology, but what happens IF…?”

Perhaps the problem is that we all have our own motivations – our own agendas.  

It was said that Thomas Edison grew his company for one reason and one reason only – to raise capital so that they can invent more technologies, to raise more capital to invent more technologies.  

Sadly, that type of a technological philosophy is not always the case.  Not that there’s anything intrinsically wrong with a company creating new technologies to increase the return on investment for investors or to create profits for whatever reason, but can we at least not pretend that at the very least that there’s a fundamental common good that we’re aiming for?

If we’re going to find uses for sticks, then at least let’s try to find more good uses for it than bad ones.