A different way to think about Apple’s protectiveness July 29, 2009
Posted by midnightzimadreams in New Media, Technology.add a comment
I was reading a story about the HomePlug Power Alliance this morning and a new standard they’re issuing/approving. There was a quote about how companies can begin developing products now that the standard will be available… and it hit me, we have so many different hardware and software platforms in technology today – just think of the myriad of mobile devices/”smart phones” and how each is different, comes with a different set of apps, etc. That and a recent story about Japan’s cell phone industry (which is very advanced hardware-wise, but completely incompatible with any cell networks used anywhere else in the world), made me think of Apple’s protective approach to tech in a different light. Perhaps they have it right. Perhaps open sourcing is so overwhelmingly prolific as a concept that we’ve ended up in an oversaturated innovation environment (some people may argue it’s consumers’ fault for wanting so many different things). Whatever the cause, it is intriguing to think of how popular and widely used the iPhone has become in a sea of wannabees that often have a handful of features that a better than the iPhone’s. Perhaps closing its product off from outside developer input has helped Apple keep the product coherent and consistent and maybe consumers are enjoying that one beacon of met expectations in a sea of random other devices that may or may not fit their needs and wants.
As much as tech “pundits” (i.e. bloggers, enthusiasts, influencers and journalists in the tech field) mock Apple for its set ways, maybe Apple’s on to something.
*shrug* Or maybe not. Maybe we need a vibrant and chaotic ecosystem in the tech industry to keep up this impressive pace of innovation (and along the way the Apples of the tech world can cherrypick the proven developments and incorprote and customize them for their own devices and software).
Hodgepodge catch-up post July 28, 2009
Posted by midnightzimadreams in Civics, Gibberish, Healthcare, Life, Media, New Media, Superfluous musings, Technology.add a comment
Life has definitely been a whirlwind in the past few months. After a layoff, several long weeks of semi-disheartened job searching, grandmother traveling back to Europe, sister’s graduation, new job (which was a surprise and has become a great learning experience), and lots of reconnections with friends, one moving wedding, and finally an apartment selection (and one more wedding prep), I have decided I’ll never “find” time to resume blogging. I had even taken to sending myself e-mails from my new smart phone (wow, never had a pocket-sized computer that makes phone calls before; they’re truly come along way, despite all the criticism) during my long commute via ferry – all with subject line “blog” and a sentence or two on a topic that was capitalizing my attention that day. Well, I won’t get around to developing full blog posts out of each e-mail, so here’s a hodgepodge list, just to get it out there and hopefully start blogging somewhat regularly again:
Celebrity deaths – what do they tell us? – I thought about this when news about Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays, Walter Cronkite (and I’m sure I’m forgetting someone) hit within a few short days of each other. Beyond the stories I was reading about online journalism, mobile technology, etc. and how these worldwide (in case of MJ) news bits profliferated many new technologies, I was thinking that a lot of these folks were fairly young and succumbed to either cancer, heart disease, or drugs (prescrption and otherwise) – worth pondering what these trends say about U.S. healthcare issues in light of the healthcare reform debate currently playing out in government.
The world as a community – I’m not sure what I was thinking exactly here, but in that e-mail I’ve written: “Obama approach – the global community organizer? Will that work?” Pretty cool to think about how global of a community we truly are – global warming, global economic crisis, global flu epidemic (that spread lightning fast), global mourning of Michael Jackson, etc. If anything, the United States is lucky to have so global of a leader again (I think the last to be revered abroad was Bill Clinton).
Why are we so afraid of government meddling – This was a thought brought about by the healthcare reform debates I kept hearing on NPR on my commute to and from work. To quote myself again from that e-mail: “Isn’t that the point of representative government? If they really mean it, why aren’t (Republican) politicians declining their government health plans & buying their own – after all that is the ultimate free market.” No need to elaborate here, I think (except to reiterate how irritated I am by blatant and not unintentional hypocrisy).
Reaction to NPR healthcare story on All Things Considered (July 1) – “Gov $ already going more & more to healthcare & decisions are out of patients’ hands b/c of insurance rules & coverage patterns, not b/c of gov bureucrats… & it’s much costlier often than just treating…” – basically what I always take issue with when Republican (and some Blue Dog Democrats) talk about the danger of having the government make healthcare decisions for you instead of that being up to you and your doctor. Hah! Who makes those decisions now? Insurance companies. They must know better than the government. (And don’t even get me started on the whole argument of whether the government will encroach that much into the decisions anyway.)
Media splinters – As a PR professional, I started in fall 2006 targeting “top tier” publications; today, for the best impact, we target “niche” publications – audiences have splintered into specialized interests thanks to the bloggosphere, other new media on the Internet, a-la-carte news and opinion even on cable news TV networks. It took something like MJ’s death to bring the whole world’s attention to one story, like a lazer beam.
Are we all spoiled consumers? – “Do we expect too much from our technology, too fast? Can’t help but wonder, reading all the new smart phone reviews (partial to Palm Pre – small keyboard actually a + for me, but would like better/more solid hardware & more apps..)”
The return of yard and garage sales – Is this a sign of the (tough economic) times? I can’t remember when was the last time I saw a sign for a garage sale and they were everywhere in the late 1990s when my family first moved to the United States. All of a sudden this summer they’re everywhere again.
Wordle – fun, fun, fun! November 4, 2008
Posted by midnightzimadreams in Gibberish, Media, New Media, Superfluous musings, Technology, Writing.add a comment
Check out this fun toy. I played with this blog and created a pretty fun image of words in random colors/fonts/directions that sizes each word according to how frequently it appears in the particular text sample. You’ll see what I meant!
It’s a cool little applet that I stumbled upon while reading an RSS feed from an Intel blog and it’s really quite a fun way to visualize your text. I like that they’re described as clouds and also the fact that they show just what’s been most prominent in your writing, whether you like it or not, whether you expected it or not. 
Pondering the greening September 30, 2008
Posted by midnightzimadreams in Energy efficiency, Life, Science, Superfluous musings, Technology.add a comment
The greening of the workplace has made us lazier about business attire. We’ve turned into telecasters – put on jeans and a suite/tie top so when you’re on a teleconference you look professional from the waste up, all that people see. But will this change when employers put teleconferencing cacpabilities at each workstation, not just in conference rooms? In some cases polycoms and the ubiquitous communication tool which really encourage casual dress, but what about the time when those will be replaced by the next generation, a tele-audio device?
Some analysts predict greenhouse gas emission reductions as high as 60- or even 80 percent by 2050. Indeed, there has been a lot of hype about the 2010 and 2020 goals, but imagining ahead a few decades, will the sci-fi movies predict it all well – clean, green new planets humans will colonize…? Do we need to learn the hard way and destroy Earth before we become better stuarts of future worlds and finally manage to keep our home planets pristine and healthy?
Technology in the next 40 years August 28, 2008
Posted by midnightzimadreams in New Media, Science, Technology.add a comment
I was working at the Intel Developer Forum last week and by the last day I was fairly tired. I didn’t have to be up until 10 a.m. and could have possibly slept in until 11. Instead, I was awake at 7 a.m. and out the door in time to see the final keynote. You can see it here for yousrelf.
There were a few things in particular that struck me – beside the incredible demos about the steps taken today toward the Cingularity (the point in time when artificail intelligence will surpass human intelligence). You should see the vide just for the cool robots that can “see” an apple in front of them and grasp it firmly, yet gently and hand it over to another preson; for the cognitive computer control demo of a video game; for the smart radios that could sense the free wavelengths around them and cell phones that can find a signal by hopping to other wirless devices even if their tower is down; for the nanocomputers (Catoms) of the future – tiny robots that will allow for 3D models and even a shape-and-appearance changing mobile devices. But what I thought was even cooler is the practical applications that each Ph.D. student, reseracher, or Intel intern discussed after their demo. Justin Rattner asked each person how they would make their project a viable, useful part of everyday life or medical research. Fareed Zakaria identifies this practicality as one of the United States’ greatest enduring strengths. Other countries are conducting fantastic research as well, but it is a uniquely U.S. trait to immediately and successfully turn a new idea into a product applicable to real life. It’s taking this vital step that separates the United States still, but it should also continue to stress educaiton in general and the sciences in particular, if it is to stay competitive in the global economy of today.
Another uplifting observation I jotted down was that several of the featured researchers were of minority background and even more of them had recognizable accents. This is another point in Zakaria’s book “The Post-American World” – the United States still attracts the brightest minds from around the globe. But again, the country needs to work harder today to keep this level of technological advancement and attractiveness for the emerging scholars of tomorrow.
