Slkjoy's blog

Holistic Approach to Technology

Everyone knows there are simply too many choices to make when choosing technology products and services - from computers to cell phones to home entertainment, portable electronics, etc. etc.

AT&T or Verizon, or Sprint? or T-Mobile? iPhone or Blackberry or Android? or Windows Mobile? or Palm? DirecTV or cable? Is that premium brand worth it? Is the higher model worth it? Everyone who is not a hardcore geek has pain when it comes to choosing which technology to buy, much less use. Truth is, even the geeks can find it overwhelming to filter through all the choices, investigate all the hype, read all the review.

And when it comes to making it all work together? It's like programming that flashing clock on the old VCRs. Can't sync your Blackberry with your PC's address book? Good luck on that.

Technology - its simply overwhelming most people today. Yet so many of us depend on it - for work, for fun. We use digital cameras, listen to digital music, pay bills online, etc. Technology is simply embedded in our life - and when one of several pieces stops working as it should, our life can very obviously come to a screeching halt, or worse.

The consumer driven product life cycle means manufacturers are often focused more on selling their product through expensive marketing campaigns and squeezing their costs down, rather than on ease of integration and post-sale support. We all know that call centers are usually considered expensive "overhead" - often the quality of support is just an after-thought. If the issue isn't obvious, they will try to pass you onto another manufacturer, or simply give up.

So there must be a better way. We can't just rely on that friend or relative for tech support. Paying consultants can be very expensive when they have to spend hours troubleshooting your particular configuration. There must be a better approach...

social networking games

In the world of games, there has been: card games, board games, video games, computer games, online games and now... social networking games - mostly on Facebook and Myspace.

Here are some interesting aspects of this evolution. This is an initial draft with generalizations. I'm sure there are lots of exceptions, but this is an attempt to generalize about the types of games available today:

card games - luck (draw of 52 kinds) and skill required, limited set of outcomes, 1-4 or more players, usually lasts less than an hour for each round, can include betting/gambling, with technology, can be played remotely online, and against computer, nominal cost for deck of cards.

board games - luck (dice and cards) and skill required, limited set of outcomes, 2-4 or more players, usually lasts less than a couple of hours per game, normally requires proprietary board and pieces, inexpensive cost of equipment (avg less than $20).

video games (console/portable: Gameboy/Xbox) - hand-eye coordination, luck and skill required, limited set of outcomes, 1-4 players typically, can last from hours to days and weeks (campaigns), requires game console and game disc or cartridge, moderately expensive (avg $100-400+)

computer games - hand-eye coordination, luck and skill required, limited set of outcomes, 1 player typically, can last hours or days and weeks, requires personal computer and game disc or download. cost: expensive (avg $1000+ for entire computer setup, $30-60 for game disc)

online games (mmporpg: World of Warcraft) - luck and skill required, limited to unlimited set of outcomes, 1 or hundreds to thousands of players, lasts for minutes to months or years, requires computer with internet access. cost beyond pc: free - monthly fees

social online games (Facebook: Zynga games) - luck, some basic strategy required, limited to unlimited outcomes - typically no ending, reward for recruiting friends into game, can buy special game pieces (weapons, cars, crops, etc), includes advertising, limited social interaction, limited team work required.

There are also some games that are hybrids - for example, xbox live games that are console-based but have live, multi-player games that require team work and team strategy, and some social skills.

Options and feature spread

I haven't posted here in a while - because so many other places make it more convenient to post - either via email or from my iPhone, or are just tied into things I already frequent regularly. I guess this is all part of social networking. Blogs like vox.com are probably finding competition now from new comers (if you can call a year or two a big difference) like facebook, twitter, posterous, memiary, linked-in, and countless other "sites" that encourage comments, status updates and postings. Heck, even games are soliciting free-form feedback. And let's not forget that sites like Amazon.com have long encouraged lengthy product reviews from actual customers. This "feature spread" simply validates what in a few short years has become undeniable - lots of people have lots to say about everything - whether its opinion or helpful answers or criticism - humans are social animals that need and love to communicate with one another.

So what's a site like Vox.com and their brethren to do? Are they becoming more niche - specializing in only a slice of the social publishing pie? For sure, there will always be professional and "enthusiast" bloggers who have a purpose or theme, or simply consolidate all their musings and posting at one place on the vast web. (for me, its for more general thoughts that aren't necessarily tied to any specific context) But then there is posterous.com - which initially made it very easy to post via email - email from your computer OR your phone. Posterous now lets you feed those posts to various social networking sites - like Facebook. Posterous also has an iPhone app that lets you take and post photos directly to your posterous blog - all within one app.

Evolution of the web. Innovation at work. How exciting for some, disheartening for those falling behind! :P

How to Save the USPS

In this increasingly electronic age, it seems almost inevitable that at some point, the United States Postal Service will become pretty much marginalized. Already there is discussion to cut back delivery days to just 5 days per week from the current 6 days.

As more and more communications and financial transactions move to online, including email, online bill payments, online statements, text messaging, blogs, etc., our mailboxes are increasingly stuffed with junk mail of the physical sort. Not surprisingly, the USPS has become dependent on marketers sending out mass mailings for it's revenue, even as it regularly increases postage rates for first class mail.

I think the USPS suffers from old school thinking and has for years missed an opportunity to truly join the electronic age beyond electronic postage. Private industry has been able to profitably develop and address various needs related to the delivery of mail and packages - FedEx, UPS, and the multitude of private mailbox services. I'm not advocating that the USPS jump in and try to compete with these for-profit enterprises. Rather I am advocating that the USPS begin to transform itself by addressing critical needs that only a government agency can fulfill in the electronic world.

As our transactional lives increasingly move online - shopping, banking, legal - some of the most critical needs remain unaddressed or simply fragmented. Privacy and identity. We, the citizens of the Internet need to protect our privacy in the fight against identity theft and worse from criminals around the world. At the same time, we need a central authority to verify our legal identities in order to bridge the real world and the online world - how do you show a government-issued "photo ID" online? Yes, there are work-around's today based on credit cards and other payment methods. However, those methods entail revealing financial information unnecessarily, and are not practical for non-financial transactions. 

How much more convenient, secure and private if we had a government agency that issued the electronic versions of driver licenses and passports? Yes, there are going to be immediate objections based on the lack of confidence that a government agency could provide a secure identity service and protect the data required - but those objections can be addressed in a number of ways. Firstly, if anyone can't trust the government - they'd be foolish to trust the millions of private enterprises already issuing online accounts and collecting terabytes of personal information online. Secondly, the agency is only issuing the electronic equivalent of birth certificates, passports and driver licenses - information that already exists with government agencies across the globe. Thirdly, this service would initially be voluntary and controlled by the individual - that is, you don't need to have one issued to you, and if you do, you control how you use it online  - i.e. who you show your electronic government issued ID to.

The reason that the USPS is the agency to do this is that they already have access to physical addresses and identities. For example, for security reasons, anyone opening a post office box to receive mail are required to show government-issued ID. Many post offices also process passport applications.

The issuance of an electronic government-issued ID begins with verifying the identity in the physical world with an in-person meeting with supporting government-issued ID such as driver license, birth certificate, passport - similar to getting a document notarized. Once the identity of a person is verified, an electronic identity can be issued in the form of an online account.

This online account would have an email account associated with it for official communications. Unlike private accounts - each individual can have only one account. The account also comes with a private-public key for encryption for secure transmission of data to and from the individual.

This unique and verified online identity would be a major obstacle to identity theft, and would enable a completely simplified and more secure paradigm of online transaction. If the USPS were to deploy such a service - it would become a pillar of security online, making it vital and relevant in forseeable future.

With this universal, government-issued online ID, there would be no need to disclose personal information to any party that is not needed for a particular transaction or interaction. It would be legally defensible - that is, digital signatures that can be verified with the government. This ID would also enable a multitude of public and private capabilities - including online voting. The use of the online ID can also enable a centralized directory for both online and physical mail that would not require disclosing personal data - it would, in effect, make the USPS the trusted middleman to deliver mail (electronic or physical) with simple ID. Address a piece of mail with just the ID address and the USPS will ensure delivery to the recipient's current address - whether physical or virtual. Individuals can update their information anytime when they move - and the USPS system will automatically deliver to the new address. This is a system that can be highly automated.

shopping for contagion

Someone recently asked me if I like shopping - to shop - and why? I do. I admitted so - and somewhat a bit defensively. In the growing tide against consumerism - shopping has taken on the mantle of a vice. Rampant consumption, purchasing of non-vital goods for the sake of instant gratification, impulse buying, spending into debt, maxing out credit cards to the brink of financial ruin. Addiction to shopping. Easy credit, frictionless e-commerce - integrated purchasing capability - all conspire to sell us things we don't really need. Add on top of that the enormous industry of professional marketers able to tap into our innermost psyche - desire, lust, guilt, vanity - through a barrage of messages in virtually all medium. The world we live in today revolves around commerce and consumerism. Everyone - from shopkeepers to the Federal government - depend on this constant flow of money to fuel their existence.

Since I was a teen, my father told me that my purpose in life is to become a provider for my future family. I had to be able to support a family, earn a living. The concept of a job, a salary - earning a paycheck each month - filled me with dread. In my search for a solution to this life time challenge ahead of me, I began to view the global economy as a giant flow of money - a river of money. Everyone and every organization tapped into this river for power like a watermill. The water isn't consumed - but comes in, flows out. Its a constant flow. Yes, you can cache some it (pun intended) and save it for a rainy day - but money basically, for most people and businesses - flows in, flows out. Some people have a small little laddle to dip into this flow, others have built elaborate wheels with buckets or paddles to capture large amounts of this flow. My personal challenge then, was to build my own tool/device/mechanism for tapping into this river of money - river of life.

In my defense, I tried to explain that I don't need to purchase when I shop in order to enjoy it. I look at various products for ideas, to collect data about brands, products, features, trends. I always thought that as mundane as shopping is for most people, there is a way to take it to the level of an "art" - more than shopping wisely, but to consume at a higher level of awareness. Today, we see this manifesting as buying products based on intangible factors - organic foods, free-range,  sustainably harvested, fair trade, etc. Products produced with certain practices gained this intangible added-value which may not in any other way add to the product's nutritional value, longevity, quality or measurable intrinsic character. So when I "shop" - I am really shopping for ideas and concepts. And ideas gleaned from this activity of shopping, fuels my own ability to ultimately tap into this river of money. Whenever I travel, I shop to understand the local economy and the local flavor of products, brands, features. The mundane goods that locals purchase tell a lot about their values, their lifestyle, their psyche. Even the way products are displayed and sold tell a lot - whether in expensive, glitzy boutiques or in makeshift stalls on street markets - there is so much to information to glean.

All these ideas, concepts, insights - have the potential to be incorporated in my own endeavors - at the very least, they influence my understanding of the river of life. And when these ideas and concepts are shared and passed onto others, they virtually take on the mechanism of an infection, a contagion. As better explained in Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell - the "idea" can take on a life of its own when it "infects" enough people. I see this occur in consumer products all the time, despite patents, copyrights and trade secrets - ideas are constantly undergoing an evolutionary process - survival of the fittest. The great ideas survive, the bad ones die out. And as in nature, some ideas find niche habitats to thrive in and evolve independent of other regions. Ultimately, this is what culture is - a rich collection of ideas that have evolved locally.

dear steve,

Hey, I know people are talking about you being sick and maybe even undergoing chemo, so don't take what I'm going to say too seriously. Your companies are doing great, even in this economy.

But I have to say, I just go the new 13-inch aluminum MacBook and have some initial thoughts.

First the good news. It's pretty darn nice - the larger, softer, MacBook Air curves are a nice touch - and nice to touch. It gives the MacBook a very different feel than the older MacBook Pro. I'd like to think that you listened to me when I ranted about how many people who want the 13" MacBook for the size still want all if not most of the performance and features of the larger MacBook Pro. So the high performance nVidia graphics card hits the spot, as does the back-lit keyboard and aluminum brick body.

Now the nit-picking. The new screen isn't so great, even after calibrating the color balance. It still often looks washed out and under-saturated. But the real issue is the small angle of optimum view. It's so small vertically, that just moving my head an inch or two up or down really changes the glare and perception of color. Looking at it from too low an angle and it looks dark. Look at it from too high an angle and it looks too white and washed out. The side to side angle is more tolerating - I can move my head within about 6 inches from center before I really notice the screen deteriorating too much. That's a 12 inch field of view horizontally. Vertically, it's only about 3 inches, from a distance of about 18 inches. I think this ought to be looked at seriously and improved. I've read about others returning their brand new MacBook because of this issue. Someone let this slip by in production.

While I use the Firewire occasionally for transfering large amounts of data - like connecting a digital SLR - it's not a deal killer for me, though it maybe for some. I still miss an ExpressCard slot. wish you could have put one in for my EVDO modem, or built-in 3G WWAN would be an alternative.

Not sure why the black bezel and keyboards. There are lots of notebooks out there that already had this color scheme - just saw some at Costco - HP laptops. But it's ok. My silver colored keys on my MacBook Pro had to be replaced because the silver paint was coming off of several of the keys. It's probably a relatively common thing with parts that are subjected to lots of impact from finger nails.

Anyway, otherwise, it's a very nice upgrade to the MacBook. Fast, and seems to be cooler than my MBPro.

Maybe I'll see you Friday when I'm touring Apple.

bowers & wilkins zeppelin

OK, it's heavy, and it requires unpacking instructions - including flipping the box upside-down to get the speakers out of the box instead of lifting it.

Everything is packed very nicely, with reverence. The speakers are wrapped in a soft cloth-like shipping fabric, the remote, tilt base, power cord and manual are in a separate box with a velvet-like tray. The packaging could have been designed by Apple, but not quite enough cleverness.

The remote is much smaller than I thought - about the size of TEN's round remote, but elongated. Took me a bit of effort to remove the shipping tab from the battery compartment - I had to read the instructions to make sure I wasn't going to break it in the process.

I docked my black 5th generation iPod - its the same model they use in the product photograpy ;-)  Included is a product brochure with lots of verbage about how great Bowers & Wilkins is. Must be there to assure the new owner that s/he has made a great purchase.

(I'm thinking I should have video taped or at least photograph the unpacking and setup process - could be made to look like a ceremonial unveiling)

Nice long power cord - must be like 8-10 feet long.

Clearly, this is no Bose iPod speaker. It's Ford vs. Mercedes-Benz. No wait. Ford vs. Aston-Martin. Let's get our nationalities right.

So.

The sound? Hmm...

It's close to 3am. I don't think the neighbors would appreciate me blasting the music. I try to find "quiet" pieces - piano, vocal, etc. The eclectic collection varies. One piece sounds kind of rough, another sounds crisp and fresh. At first I am confused. Then I realize, of course - a very good quality speakers - near perfect - should almost disappear. I am not hearing the speakers - I am hearing the recording. All of a sudden, on certain pieces, I am thinking that the microphone is in the wrong place - (I'm no recording engineer) - the stereo separation on Yo-Yo Ma's Meditation is lacking and the cello a bit boomy. Whoa - am I sounding like some audiophile critic here? Like a partially blind man suddenly given perfect vision. Some things will look gorgeously better, other things may look much less appealing in such sharp detail.

I can hear the bow being drawn across the strings. I can almost hear the pedals on Helene Grimaud's quiet piano passages. I can hear a new depth in Diana Krall's voice on Case of You. She sounds more sensual, more feminine. But some pieces I like better, others I see some flaws. Damien Rice sounds like he's in the room with me. Some electronica pieces - Japanese - sound very nice - very precise and flawless. All very revealing.

Or is it just my imagination? Projections to justify such an expensive purchase, along with expectations for the brand. A venerable brand it is - reference speakers at top studios - like Abbey Road - for 40 years. Or these are simply the best speakers I've listened to in a long time. Makes me want to listen to most of my library to see what I hear anew.

five stars. hat's off to b&w. and my sympathies for having to deal with Apple. But maybe this is why Apple discontinued their own Hi-Fi speakers. They can't have one of their products be positioned under a third-party's.

dear steve, i need less of less

I ordered a MacBook Air minutes after you introduced it at MacWorld. I received it 2 weeks later. Two weeks after that, I gave mine away. BTW, 3 months after I got it, I sold my iPhone - no IM, touchscreen typing, slow sucky camera, no 3G, no GPS. I went with the nokia N95-3.

There is such potential, but the reality is that I need less of less - I need a little more. OK, maybe you feel I am asking too much. But I know that you believe that what others think is impossible, you think is possible.

So I think it's impossible for the iPhone to support 3G data, on GSM, 5.0MP camera w/flash, GPS, support a Bluetooth keyboard, have cut & paste, Keychain support, iChat, support Bluetooth photo printers, and 32GB memory or flash memory card slot. Oh nevermind, Steve - other than Keychain support, seems like Nokia already did it with their N95. Yeah, it's bulky. And doesn't have a touchscreen. But I hate typing with that onscreen keyboard - its so slow.

As for the MacBook Air, I don't think you can put in 7mm DVD drive, 128GB SSD, 2.33 GHz Core 2 Duo, 3 USB ports, built-in ethernet (or a docking port). Oh wait, other than the 128GB SSD, I think Lenovo just proved me wrong with their X300. Oh, nevermind Steve, your competition has already upped the bar a mere few weeks after the MacBook Air.

Nice industrial design though. Style over substance.

shilling for shoes

Originally submitted at Onlineshoes.com

Travel the world in comfort and stylish energy. Extra cushioning makes these handcrafted mocs perfect for long or short trips. Lightweight in design and easily packable. Durable Vibram rubber outsole moves with you in stride. The Rover will easily become your favorite shoes, weekdays and weeken...

Rover (Black)

my feet love this shoe

By California entrepreneur from Los Angeles, CA on 11/18/2007

 

5out of 5

Sizing: Feels true to size

Width: Feels true to width

Pros: airport security safe, Stable, Comfortable, Durable

Best Uses: Casual Wear, Travel

Describe Yourself: Casual, Stylish

I've had two pairs of this shoe - brown and black mock crocodile - for a few years now. I loved them so much that I even sent the shoes back for a factory refurbishment - new soles. one of the most comfortable out of the box, best looking shoes I've ever had. goes great with jeans or slacks. Travels well - no metal to trigger airport security screening, and easy to slip on/off. I believe these are handmade in America - great craftsmanship.

(legalese)

learning to write

Not everything I know I learned from my years at Cornell, but I did learn lots. For one, I learned that writing well is very important - not just because it communicates more effectively, but because sometimes, what you write, what you create, will be read many years into the future. It's often the most direct, intimate thing you leave behind. Writing is inherently a means of communicating with the future* – with people in the future, unlike phone calls, instant messages, emails - usually. *not necessarily only after you're gone, but you most likely won't be able to discuss, edit or otherwise modify what you've written. So it's important to get it right when you write, because you won't be present when the reader is reading your writing - usually.

So what does it mean to write well? Is it just spelling and grammar? I confess that that is what I thought before Cornell. Freshman year, writing was a requirement. But I nearly flunked out of my first writing course - creative writing. I thought it was the instructor, who clearly seemed to favor the writing of one or two students over others. Perhaps the instructor was just putting their work up as examples of good writing, but it doesn't really help the other students struggling with their own writing. Writing is clearly not a learn-by-example skill - after all, there are clear boundaries like plagiarism that makes examples less helpful. I didn't actually "get it" until the next semester, when I took "philosophy of mind." Unlike "creative writing" - which seemed to me at the time to allow one to write about anything - any subject - philosophy required rigorous logic and reasoning. All of a sudden, there was a clear and present pupose to writing. I had to compose my thoughts into coherent series of explanations, paths of reasoning. Reading other examples of philosophical writing, paying attention to the reasoning and arguments, looking for flaws in logic, etc. - all helped my own preparation for writing. I learned to write effectively, paying attention to nuances in meanings of words, and the context in which they are used. While it was a challenging course, I was profoundly rewarded with my newly developed writing ability. I got it.

These days, the ability to write effectively is still a rare skill in the larger world. Many people write as if they were just transcribing their speech – as in speaking, not a speech. Speaking relies so much on nuances and inflections in the manner of how things are said, and of course the person(s) one is speaking to. It is, of course, far more intuitive than writing. Children, at an early age, learn that how you say it is often as important if not more important than what you say. Writing is a skill acquired at a much much later stage - when even the most rudimentary sentences are heaped with praise and accolades.

I sometimes believe that like many things, writing improves with use and practice. But alas, in my efforts to encourage my son to write - a blog - I think he does not yet "get it". Writing is a counter-intuitive means of communicating.