Category Archives: random

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At the source of the shutdown, the economy falters — and anger at Obama runs high – The Washington Post.

Some people seem to hold hate in their hearts so much that their perception of reality is delusional. There are lots of problems small towns face since the start of the financial crisis that have nothing to do with President Obama. Not everyone will perceive themselves as advantaged under any system, but I believe society as a whole benefits from Obama’s domestic policies as opposed to the austerity efforts of Tea Party politicians.

Phonebloks

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This idea (Phonebloks) by Dave Hakkens is such a good idea. In a way it would be an almost perfect implementation of one of my grandest ideas for computing. I haven’t talked about the idea yet, but consider it the one-device-to-rule-them-all platform. Essentially it’s a core computing device that can be plugged in to various modules to furnish different computing platforms. The core might be a mobile phone while the various modules would expand it to other form factors (tablet, laptop, desktop).

PhoneBloks could actually provide the necessary platform to realize my idea. Need a larger screen? Plug in the tablet-size screen. Need a mouse and keyboard? Plug in to the laptop body. Need to process video? Swap out the processor for something more powerful (and mobile-unfriendly), then swap back in the mobile-friendly processor when you’re done.

The biggest obstacle would be the operating system. You would need something flexible enough to function across all platforms without sacrificing functionality. Automatic context switching would be paramount, and have to be done in a way that wouldn’t confound the user. The one OS that seems designed for this scenario right now is Windows 8, though I don’t know enough to say if it’s up to the task. Alternatives would include something based on Andriod or a combined iOS/OS X (though maybe iOS by itself would be sufficient).

There is a competing platform ideology that makes it likely this will never come to pass, and that’s cloud computing. This platform uses the economies of scale to run compute-intensive tasks in “the cloud” while keeping the user hardware inexpensive. This is where Google is placing its money and I can’t argue with it’s benefits. It does have drawbacks, however, in that you need to be connected to the Internet and be willing to give of your digital self fully to a third party. The latter issue has always been problematic for me despite the potential benefits. I don’t mind buying into a hardware ecosystem, one where I’m in control of my digital self. Giving up that control, and giving that one company full access to all my information, is a difficult choice.

Though, let’s be frank. Google already knows everything about me.

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Why a medieval peasant got more vacation time than you | The Great Debate.

This is an interesting observation, but it’s not really a fair comparison. Modern society is so vastly different from medieval times. I have no doubt that if the working class from that time could work morr they would be obliged to do so by their “bosses.” There was, frankly, less work to do. I wouldn’t be surprised if non-farm workers (waitstaff, iron/leather smiths, and merchants) worked much more.

Still, I think the overall point is valid. Productivity at the current number of hours worked is likely much lower than it would be if we had more leisure time. It’s difficult for a small business owner, particularly in the service industry, to accommodate that in the days if instant gratification. Difficult, but not impossible.

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How Jeffrey Sachs failed to save Africa – The Globe and Mail.

There are some choice quotes in this article about the failure Jeffrey Sachs to achieve his desire “save” Africa. To wit:

What he forgot was the human factor. It turns out that people are not always rational. They don’t always do what’s in their own best interests, even when the benefits are completely clear to a development economist.

“We want to empower. But no one can come and change them if they do not want to change themselves.”

“I think we’d all be a lot better off if we were a little more humble.”