kc bob: GEEKY

Showing posts with label GEEKY. Show all posts

Why TV is Doomed

Yes, I know that some have been predicting the demise of television for years [albeit not for technical reasons] but now the geeks at ZDNet are saying it too - TV is Doomed. Here are a few thoughts from the article:

The entire old-school television distribution system has been rocked by a quake of epic magnitude. And, as has been the case for the past decade or so, this seismic shift is all about high-speed broadband, the Internet, and the cloud.
...
Until now, if you wanted to watch Game of Thrones or any of the other excellent HBO series, you had to have a cable or satellite TV subscription. You had to be tied to a monthly fee consisting of a suite of services you didn't want, just to watch a few things you did. In fact, that was a lot of how the world worked before the Internet.
...
And that's why I found myself staring at a cornucopia of entertainment options this morning. Rather than the same programs sitting on my old TiVo, I had the entire Internet of video to choose from. Rather than being forced to watch what comes down from my cable provider on their schedule (with their blackouts and whacked-out DRM that won't let me watch a show I recorded in the living room on my bedroom TV), I can watch whatever I want.

I can watch whatever I want and save more than $2,000 a year at the same time. The old-school television model is doomed. Content producers and distributors better come up to speed quickly on the new world order or they will be decimated by the price/performance benefit of the now available substitute solutions.

You can read more of the article here. Do you see yourself dumping TV for cheaper internet solutions? Maybe later for me but not now. Google Fiber TV gives me a lot of reasons to stay but they need to keep up if they want me to stay.

Congressional Technophobia

[A luddite is a person who is opposed to new technology.]

Saw this absurd image on Meet the Press this morning. Apart from Senator Carper, these congressional leaders do not do email. It is hard to think of email as "new" technology as I have been using it for 20+ years. Small wonder that leaders like these cannot relate to average Americans. That said, perhaps congress is the only place for professional luddites?

Net Neutrality and You

Seven things the new Net Neutrality rules won't do ...

They won't make your home broadband connection faster.
They won't eliminate your wireless data cap.
They won't stop your wireless carrier from throttling your service
when you've reached your data cap.
They won't create competition.
They won't improve your Friday night Netflix viewing.
They won't stop the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger.
Nothing will change as a result of these new rules.

Read more at c|net [here] and tell me what you think.

Anybody want a Phablet?

A few years ago I would not have considered having a phone as large as my Samsung Nexus 4. These days I wonder if something as big as these phablets might be workable if I had a bluetooth earpiece to make and receive phone calls. What say you? Would you get rid of your phone and tablet for a phablet?

The Rocket Man

Growing up in the 1950s and 60s I was fascinated by America's space program. One name that seemed to regularly surface was Wernher von Braun. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun (March 23, 1912 – June 16, 1977) was a German rocket engineer and space architect. He was one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Germany during World War II and, subsequently, in the United States. He is credited as being the "Father of Rocket Science". ... According to one NASA source, he is "without doubt, the greatest rocket scientist in history". His crowning achievement was to lead the development of the Saturn V booster rocket that helped land the first men on the Moon in July 1969. In 1975 he received the National Medal of Science.

I love how a man who worked against us in World War II came to America and helped us go to the moon. I worked on missiles when I was in the Army and was so impressed with the folks who imagined, designed and built them. Sad that NASA's budget has been cut so much. Maybe the moon is the limit? Or maybe we will dream of Space again?

Star Trek Actor Trivia Quiz

Here are the answers in alphabetical order:

Majel Barrett

James Doohan

Michael Dorn

Leonard Nimoy

William Shatner

Patrick Stewart

George Takei

Here are the questions in no particular order:

Which Star Trek Actor Is Responsible For Inventing The Klingon Language?

Which Actor Has The Most Appearances In The Star Trek Universe?

Check your answers here and here . Please let me know how you did.

... a tip of the trivia hat to the How to Geek for this one.

National Computer Clean Up Day

This funny Shoebox cartoon informs me of a day that I have never heard. It is purported to be a day dedicated to logically review, and delete old files and programs. Some even think we should vacuum the dust from our PC's. One description of the day says:

"Most of us add programs and files to our computer with reckless abandon. After all, computers have huge storage capacity. Many of these files and programs are forgotten over time. Overtime they clog memory and cause confusion during retrieval and use of other files. And, some may slow down your computer."

Funny because I have been doing a bit of cleanup since Google fiber was installed in my loft a few weeks ago. The fast internet speeds give me better ways of uploading and archiving old files. Will you celebrate the day or will you just ignore it like me?

... see more funny cartoons at the Shoebox blog.

Diabetes, Google and Contact Lenses

My first wife had diabetes. So I my interest was peaked when I heard about Google's Smart Contact Lens Project that involves the monitoring of sugar levels in tear drops through contact lenses. Here is a clip from their blog:

We’re now testing a smart contact lens that’s built to measure glucose levels in tears using a tiny wireless chip and miniaturized glucose sensor that are embedded between two layers of soft contact lens material. We’re testing prototypes that can generate a reading once per second. We’re also investigating the potential for this to serve as an early warning for the wearer, so we’re exploring integrating tiny LED lights that could light up to indicate that glucose levels have crossed above or below certain thresholds. It’s still early days for this technology, but we’ve completed multiple clinical research studies which are helping to refine our prototype. We hope this could someday lead to a new way for people with diabetes to manage their disease.

This could be an amazing revolution for folks who are now pricking their fingers for blood tests. I so hope that something like this could one day be the norm. Of course it would even be better it researchers come up with a cure!

Bloody Personalities

Did you know Furukama Takeji, a Japanese researcher, believed that certain personality traits can be linked to your blood type? Granted that there is no scientific documentation to prove his theory but it is fun to see how his assessments compare with our realities. I checked my type below and found it to be mostly accurate. Find your blood type and tell me what you think about this personality type theory.

Type O: You are sociable and very outgoing. You are an initiator, even though you don’t always finish what you’ve started. Innovative and popular, you like to be the center of spotlight and appear very self confident. O’s are most compatible with other O’s and AB’s.

Type A: While outwardly calm, you are such a perfectionist that you’re likely to be a ball of nerves inside. You’re the most artistic of the blood groups. You can be shy, conscientious, trustworthy, and sensitive. A’s are most compatible with other A’s and AB’s.

Type B: Result oriented and strong minded, type B people will start a job and continue until it is completed, and completed well. You are the individualists of the blood groups and find your own way in life. B’s are most compatible with other B’s and AB’s.

Type AB: You are the split personalities of the blood groups. You can be both outgoing and shy in the same time, confident and timid. You are usually responsible, but too much responsibility will cause problems. You are trustworthy and like to help others. AB’s are compatible with AB’s, B’s, A’a and O’s.

Bitcoin :: Online Wampum

From an old issue of Lifehacker :: Maybe you've heard of Bitcoin—it wants to shake the entire global economy, and has become the financial bubble du jour with a skyrocketing value. It's online money—an alternative to dollars and euros. Well what's that mean?

Bitcoin is not real money. It's an online "currency"—virtual tokens that can be exchanged for goods and services at places that accept it, the same way you'd give someone a dollar for a cookie. But unlike a dollar, a Bitcoin has no serial number or any possible mechanism that could be used to trace it back to a buyer or seller. This makes it attractive to drug dealers and/or privacy advocates. ... Bitcoins are backed by no one and nothing and completely unregulated.
...
Unlike traditional currency, that's backed up by something, (be it gold, silver, or a central bank), Bitcoins are generated out of thin air. Through a process called "mining," a little app sits on your computer and slowly—very slowly—creates new Bitcoins in exchange for providing the computational power to process transactions. When a new batch of coins is ready, they're distributed in probabilistic accordance to whomever had the highest computing power in the mining process. The system is rigged so that no more than 21 million BitCoins will ever exist—so the mining process will yield less and less as time goes on, and more people sign up. This makes the whole system a lot sweeter for early adopters.

Compared to "real money," few places accept Bitcoin at the moment. But that's quickly changing. There's decent incentive for small businesses to accept Bitcoins—it's free to use, and there aren't any transaction fees. At the moment you can buy the services of a web designer, indie PC games, homemade jewelry, guns, and even cocaine. If the internet is the Wild West, BitCoin is its wampum. :: You can read more about the Bitcoin at Lifehacker.

Smartphone Theft

No, I am not talking about folks who steal cellphones but about whether these gadgets steal our time. Consider these arguments for and against from a ZDNet article titled "Are smartphones stealing away our lives?" ...

People fall into two camps in this argument. One camp -- my camp -- is that digital relationships and real-life relationships are levelling off and becoming the same. The other camp is that there is an inherent *specialness* in real-life that digital life can never replace.
...
I'm certainly not advocating that we eschew mobile technology. As much as they steal moments from us, they also provide us with the ability to save time so we can live our lives more efficiently. However, as a culture we need to learn how to recognize what the high-value experiences in our lives actually are, what we should really be paying attention to, and when we should be paying attention to them.

I love social networks like Facebook and Blogger but I do think that all sorts of technological gadgets often rob us of human interaction - television being the foremost thief. That said, I have to admit to sometimes checking my email when in the company of others. Even so I pray that I will never value electronic interactions over the human flavor.

The Veebot

According to this MSN article: "If you’ve ever left the doctor’s office looking like a pin cushion thanks to a zillion failed attempts to draw blood, you’ll love this robotic phlebotomist. If, however, you’d be terrified of a needle-wielding robot, you might think it’s a very bad idea. Called the Veebot, this contraption uses infrared light, a camera and ultrasound to pick the perfect vein, check it for blood flow and whammo, it gets the job done. The brainiacs behind this healthcare gizmo say it successfully chooses the best vein around 83 percent of the time, and if it can boost that rate up to 90 percent they’ll launch clinical trials."

Goodbye Copper

Saw an interesting story this week about how phone companies are abandoning their old copper phone lines. Here is the beginning of the story from the Associated Press:

Robert Post misses his phone line. Post, 85, has a pacemaker that needs to be checked once a month by phone. But the copper wiring that once connected his home to the rest of the world is gone, and the phone company refuses to restore it.

In October 2012, Superstorm Sandy pushed the sea over Post’s neighborhood in Mantoloking, N.J., leaving hundreds of homes wrecked, and one floating in the bay. The homes on this sandy spit of land along the Jersey Shore are being rebuilt, but Verizon doesn’t want to replace washed-away lines and waterlogged underground cables. Phone lines are outdated, the company said.

With the advent of cell phones, Skype and other internet communications I can understand this change. Even so, for this onetime Ma Bell employee, I will miss the simplicity that the copper lines brought us. With copper you did not need the power to be operational to make a call. With copper all you needed was a few wires and a handset. Alas, a time gone by. Goodbye copper. You served us well for over a century.

Futuristic Bone Casts

I love the way that medical technology has improved our lives. This just in from CNet...

"After many centuries of splints and cumbersome plaster casts that have been the itchy and smelly bane of millions of children, adults and the aged alike, the world over, we at last bring fracture support into the 21st century," writes Evill, who just graduated from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.

The concept would work by having the patient's arm (wrist, leg, or whatever) X-rayed and 3D-scanned. Each cast would be individualized to provide more support at the site of the injury. The whole thing looks a bit like a futuristic lace pattern. A tighter "grain" of holes goes over the injury site for more protection.

The cast is just a concept at this point, but considering how the medical world has embraced the use of 3D printers, it may not be too far off from becoming reality.

King Kong Phones

This image reminds me that I bought my Android phone a few years ago because it actually fit in my pockets. These days, with the introduction of the iPhone 5 and other mega-sized 4"+ sized phones, I have lost hope that my next cell phone will ever fit in my pocket. What is your experience with the newer phones. Did you have to buy a backpack or a man-purse to carry them around? Or do you have big hands?

Tablet Buying Criteria

This summer I bought a Google Nexus 7 tablet (pictured below) for my wife Ann's birthday. She absolutely loves it and uses it all of the time. With Christmas just weeks away you might be thinking of buying a tablet. If so here are some questions, from David Gewirtz at ZDNet, to help you narrow the choice ...

If how much you spend is the most important, get the $199 Kindle Fire HD or Nexus 7.
If how much you spend is really, really important, get the last-generation Kindle Fire for $159.
If the most important thing is using all your iOS apps, get the iPad mini.
If the most important thing is using all your Android apps, get the Nexus 7.
If you want the freedom to run apps that Apple might not approve of, get the Nexus 7.
If you're an avid Amazon customer and want all the benefits of Amazon Prime, free videos, and the ability to "borrow" Kindle books, get a Kindle Fire HD.
If you think you'll be infuriated when Apple introduces a better iPad mini for the same price and drops the price on this one, don't get the iPad mini right now.
If you want the most mainstream option, with better app security, and you don't mind spending extra for the privilege, get the iPad mini.
If you've never used a tablet or a tablet operating system and you want access to the most training resources and materials, get the iPad mini.
If you want to read magazines and books in the bathroom and don't want to freak out if you drop your tablet in the toilet, get the last-generation Kindle Fire.

For me price and the ability to run all Android apps was the most important feature. Ann surfs the web, does email and reads books using the Kindle and Nook apps. Let me know if this helps and how you are leaning tablet-wise.

MacReligion

A few confusing thoughts from a ZDNet post titled:
Anthropologist 'confirms' Apple is a religion.

"Like many Sacred Ceremonies, the Apple Product Launch cannot be broadcast live," she wrote. "The Scribes [and] tech journalists act as Witness, testifying to the wonders they behold via live blog feeds."
...
Apple is not a religion. It has a loyal following as a company, and it is both the technology industry and the fan base which adds a level of reverence to Apple events -- not because we're hanging on every word that passes the lips of an Apple spokesman -- but likely and simply because the products are cool.

Security Questions drive me Crazy

This cartoon reminds of the ways that many websites have, over the years, made it hard to access their sites. Here are a few examples of those questions that sometimes drive me crazy when I try to log in:

    1)  What street did you live on in third grade?
    2)  What was your childhood phone number including area code?
    3)  What is your maternal grandmother's maiden name?
    4)  What is the name of a college you applied to but didn't attend?
    5)  What is the license plate number of your dad's first car?
    6)  How many bones have you broken?
    7)  What was your childhood nickname?
    8)  What was the name of your first stuffed animal?
    9)  To what city did you go on your honeymoon?
    10) What was the name of your first pet?

Can you think of another question that drives you crazy?

Ad Censors

Many years ago I switched browsers (from Internet Explorer to Firefox) and became aware of extensions that enabled me to censor what I saw inside of my internet browser. These days I use the Chrome browser and use several browser extensions to control what I see or do not see on websites - it even has filters for Facebook. Some say that people should not use these tools because they hurt revenue streams for websites that we visit. I see it no differently than fast forwarding through annoying political ads on my DVR. Do you use a browser that lets you censor what you see? If not you may want to change browsers.

Are you a black and white purist?

Are you a black and white purist? Or do you, like me, wish that old films, like "It's a Wonderful LIfe", were colorized? Do you think the colorized version of Lincoln better than the original? Or do you think that original photos are better left alone? Do you ever crop or touch up your digital photos? Or do you prefer to leave them as you photographed them?

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