Month: December 2011

Writers discover focus. Film at 11.

iPad 2 as a serious writing machine (how-to):

This is liberating for a writer, and I find I can write more, and better, on the tablet system than on a “real” computer. There are no menu options competing for my attention, no updates needing to be run, just an app on the screen. Those of us who write for a living know how precious it is when you get “in the zone” while writing. The zone is that mental place where the words just flow as fast as you can type them. I find I get in the zone far more often on the iPad than on other computers. I attribute that to my focus being forced to the task at hand, and that is priceless.

[So everyone that writes this mentions the above “focus” thing and the battery life (it’s very long compared to even a current laptop). But here’s the thing. Running any app full screen will provide the focus of which they are all so enamored. Some writing apps (for the Mac) were built with exactly this in mind, and completely hide the screen. It’s now fairly common on the Mac as many apps support Lion’s “full screen mode” which takes the menus off the top, the dock off the bottom or side, and eliminates tool bars etc. So again, other than cool factor, and battery life (what did all we do until now? The horror!) these articles are simply “look at me, I’m cutting edge.” articles. I agree that adding a keyboard transforms the feel of an iPad (or iPhone) entirely. And the battery life is gloriously freeing if you’re used to the dance of power cords, and timing, and outlets. But the focus thing strikes me as people who had no clue about what as available to them for years. The change, if you can consider it one, is that the iPad doesn’t provide a choice about “one thing at time”. It is that design decision that they’re actually praising. They’re embracing the constraint and saying “behold the beauty”, even if there are plenty of times it feels in the way. For example, working on a web design where switching back and forth between editor and browser is a back and forth whip saw like action that repeats many times.) But I’m so glad that all these writers who apparently are so undisciplined that they cannot ignore the flashing of their tweets, or the siren call of menu choices have found nirvana. Now if they would just write about something worthwhile, instead of informing us of their modern version of a #2 pencil.]

PS Don’t misunderstand. I love the combination of keyboard and iPad or iPhone, it’s a really great way to go for writers and some types of tasks. But it doesn’t replace a big screen for everything. It’s just a tool, albeit a great one for some tasks.

FBI Says Carrier IQ May Be Used in ‘Law Enforcement Proceedings’

FBI Says Carrier IQ May Be Used in ‘Law Enforcement Proceedings’:

Andy Greenberg:

After a video surfaced that seemed to show the software logging
keystrokes and monitoring data traffic on the more than 140
million phones on it’s installed by default, Morisy had asked the
Bureau for any “manuals, documents or other written guidance
used to access or analyze data gathered by programs developed or
deployed by Carrier IQ.”

The FBI responded that the material couldn’t be provided, and
cited an exemption to the Freedom of Information law for
situations in which handing over documents “could reasonably be
expected to interfere with law enforcement proceedings.”

Ugh. Not sure how to see this as anything other than confirmation of our worst fears about this Carrier IQ stuff.

[Me either.]
Source: Daring Fireball

In Africa, the Art of Listening

In Africa, the Art of Listening:

It struck me as I listened to those two men that a truer nomination for our species than Homo sapiens might be Homo narrans, the storytelling person. What differentiates us from animals is the fact that we can listen to other people’s dreams, fears, joys, sorrows, desires and defeats — and they in turn can listen to ours.

Many people make the mistake of confusing information with knowledge. They are not the same thing. Knowledge involves the interpretation of information. Knowledge involves listening.

So if I am right that we are storytelling creatures, and as long as we permit ourselves to be quiet for a while now and then, the eternal narrative will continue.

[We also listen first and speak second in our development.]

Google’s 3 Top Executives Have 8 Private Jets

Daniel inc jet2

[Regardless of the exact number of jets they own, I can assure you it’s hard to get the branding just right on these things…]

Google’s 3 Top Executives Have 8 Private Jets | TechCrunch:

The jets are not owned or operated by Google. Instead, the 3 Google leaders operate the fleet through an LLC called H211. Google has no official relation with H211. Ken Ambrose, the Director of Operations for H211, announced the funding offer at a public meeting this week. He also complained that NASA, which owns Hangar One, has taken too long to respond to the offer.

Our Voices Revolutionize the World

Our Voices Revolutionize the World:

3 lessons we learned early:

We didn’t have the credentials. None of us were humanitarians, we just cared about our home and wanted to do something.

We had no funding. It wasn’t until 4 months later that we formed Ushahidi as an organization, and 4 months after that when we received funding. That didn’t stop us from doing something.

We had no time. If we had thought long and hard before we built our system, it probably would have been too complicated and wouldn’t have worked. We also might have thought of a more sayable name…

All of the lessons that we’ve learned through our journey are baked into our organizations culture. We question assumptions and we treasure disruption. We’re willing to take risks that leave us open to failure, in our effort to change the way information flows in the world.

[On the money.]

Redis for win32 and the Microsoft patch

Redis for win32 and the Microsoft patch:

When dependencies provide a lot of added value it is worth adding them. Instead when you need to switch to something bigger and more complex without any gain, why to do it?

Ah, and about the gain being some kind of feature only exciting for we code nerds and having zero effects on how a system works, please read my next article in a few days, we are programmers and we need a revolution.

[Stay tuned. There’s more of this scintillating tech stuff coming. (It is important if you’re a developer, but otherwise it’s totally in the weeds, and should remain there atmo.) There is a larger lesson to be gleaned from the dependencies issue. If something requires that you do something complex for little or no gain, it’s probably the wrong thing to do. It should be noted that we often completely organize our lives in this complicated fashion for little gain. Worthy of more thought.]

Some Days Aren’t Forgotten

Some Days Aren’t Forgotten:

December 7th, 1941 was the day that a Japanese carrier force launched a surprise attack on the American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. While demonstrating the power of Naval Airplanes it lead way to the end of the might of battleships. It was the day that ratified the people of this country to join in one of the bloodiest and most costly wars we had ever seen. They fought at home and on foreign fronts for our safety, our rights as individuals, and our freedom. May people remember what happened that day December 7th, 1941, the lives that were lost and the families hurt. May we never forget what happened in that War so history doesn’t repeat itself.

[Indeed.]
Source: Jake Peterson’s Blog

Paypal: feel the love

Paypal: feel the love:

You’ve probably read about (or even felt) the anger over Paypal “stealing money” from Regretsy, which is only the latest in a series of things they’ve done that have pissed the Internet off. I suspect, given the attention this is getting, they’ll fix this. (Unlike them cutting off Wikileaks, this time Paypal is as coming as close to stealing from orphans before Christmas as one can get without writing a Dickens story.) This will quiet down. Then, within six months, they’ll do something else to piss the Internet off.

In no particular order, here’s a few random thoughts.

The key to understanding Paypal is this: Their policies in dealing with their customers are all crafted with the assumption that their customers are out to screw them. It’s not that they don’t want to do business with you, it’s that they don’t trust you. Ever. Under any circumstance. They want your money, but they hate you.

They hate you because in a measurable percentage of their transactions, people are trying to screw them over. As the cliché goes, it’s not paranoia when they really are out to get you.

Except that approaching every transaction with that attitude really is paranoia.

[The Internet is young, and we are collectively stupid for supporting organizations like this. Make sure you read the original post which is linked to in the first paragraph. It’ll make your blood boil, especially if you follow these stories (and toss in the issues folks have had with Google as well). What a mess.]
Source: Coyote Tracks

Harry Morgan, ‘M*A*S*H’ and ‘Dragnet’ Actor, Dies at 96

Harry Morgan, ‘M*A*S*H’ and ‘Dragnet’ Actor, Dies at 96:

Harry Morgan, the prolific character actor best known for playing the acerbic but kindly Colonel Potter in the long-running television series “M*A*S*H,” died Wednesday morning at his home in Los Angeles. He was 96. His son Charles confirmed his death.

In more than 100 movies, Mr. Morgan played Western bad guys, characters with names like Rocky and Shorty, loyal sidekicks, judges, sheriffs, soldiers, thugs and police chiefs.

On television, he played Officer Bill Gannon with a phlegmatic but light touch to Jack Webb’s always-by-the-book Sgt. Joe Friday in the updated “Dragnet,” from 1967 to 1970.

[RIP. Loved the characters he played. Amazing career.]