Author: Isaac

Categories
technology

For those that are tired of facebook changing…

I haven’t been keeping up with how facebook looks because I don’t usually log into facebook anymore. I’m still getting all of my updates though. How? I use a program that fetches my friend’s statuses and picture updates. I can also comment on them and post my own comments and status as well.

The program is called socialite, you can download it here. It also fetches all of my google reader feeds. You can also use it for twitter, flickr, and general rss reading as well. This one is Mac only, but there’s probably other programs out there like this for you windows folks. I’ve found it a great way to get the important stuff from facebook and avoid all of the ads, stupid games, and the inevitable format changes. It’s nice having a program that will do my updates for me and allow my web browsing to be just that, browsing.

Categories
freedom

The point of free speech

The more I think about it, the more I think the folks that don’t like the outcome of the Citizens United case don’t understand the concept of free speech. Everyone I have heard complain about the verdict has essentially wanted to curb the power of large corporations. In their mind, it is perfectly justifiable to limit their ability to run political ads.

Here’s the trouble, in doing that, you also restrict the ability of smaller, grassroots organizations to express themselves as well. The proponents of the McCain-Feingold legislation are willing to eliminate the voices of smaller, activist organizations in order to prevent the possibility of a corporation abusing its so-called power.

The hell of it is that the corporations will find other ways of influencing lawmakers, the rich will always do OK. It is the smaller voices that need to be heard, perhaps even in opposition to corporate interests. That is the entire point behind the concept of free speech.

Yes, the overturning of that legislation may lead to more corporate political activism but it is also the only way to fight against that activism. Instead of trying to limit certain groups, we should instead try to make sure that everyone has the chance to get their point across. Free speech for everyone is the only way.

Categories
technology

Flash on the web

The new iPad really has me excited. If you’re sort of “meh” about the specs, I encourage you to take a look at the video Apple has produced. There you can see people handling it and using it and that makes a big difference. I think I “get” what Apple had in mind for this product, and I am beyond psyched about it.

One thing that did concern me was the fact that Flash will not be supported on it. Flash is an Adobe product and it’s used all over the web, but it occurred to me that I didn’t know how much Flash I used in my usual browsing. I downloaded a plug-in that blocks Flash content but allows you to download it if you feel like it.

What a revelation! As it turns out, most of the Flash that I run across consists of ads. Pages load much faster without them, and there is a lot less distractions and annoying things when Flash is blocked. In short, I barely notice the absence of Flash really isn’t a big deal for me in my usual browsing routine. Granted, I never use Hulu, I can definitely understand people’s consternation over not being able to see their TV shows.

So is this a fatal flaw? I don’t think so. There are other, better ways to display video content on the web. H264 encoding and HTML5 have the potential to unseat Flash. Google is supporting both of these formats on Youtube and Vimeo is using HTML5 in limited quantities as well. Right now, limitations in playback seem to browser based. Between those two open standards and Apple’s refusal to use Flash (supposedly for battery reasons although there are plenty of conspiracy theories around), I wonder how long Adobe will be able to maintain people’s enthusiasm for Flash. With all of the iPods, iPhones, and now iPads not using it, that’s a lot of the mobile market. Time will tell. In the meantime, I heartily suggest using a Flash blocker for speedier internet access. I’m using a Safari plug-in called “clicktoflash.” You can get it here.

Categories
freedom

Free speech

I keep hearing outrage, gnashing of teeth, etc. over the recent Citizens United ruling. I’ve been questioning people as to why they support what I see as an obvious restriction of free speech and the answers seem to boil down to one of the following:

1) Corporations are bad and you can’t trust them.

2) Corporations have too much money.

3) Corporations are not people!

4) People are mindless lemmings that will do whatever ads tell them to do.

Keep in mind that the law in question applied to not only what we consider the typical corporations, but also non-profits (more on this later), grassroots organizations, and essentially any grouping of people. So, perhaps there are some “bad” corporations, but surely there are groups that deserve and need to be heard close to an election too!

Points 2 and 4 are related. It is argued that because some corporations have “unlimited money” that they also have unlimited power over the voters. Why people think that Exxon or Chase have Svengali-like powers is beyond me. Ads can present information, they can never coerce, so why the fear of their ads? Ah, because people are stupid of course. Sorry, I don’t subscribe to this train of thought. Ads will, on the whole, either reinforce people’s priors or they will give them something to rail against. If an ad presents information that changes someone’s mind then surely it was useful and should have been aired.

As to the corporations are not people bit, I think that it relates to point #1. Organizations are groups of people. Those people want to get their point across, that’s what free speech is all about.

Even if those 4 things were true, they still do not provide us with an adequate reason to limit free speech. To see why, we only have to look at the basis of this case. A US district court ruled that ads for a movie about Hillary Clinton violated the McCain-Feingold act because they aired within 60 days of an election. Think about that. Whatever you may think about Ms. Clinton, what does it say about our country when you cannot advertise a film that is critical of a politician? What does it say about the state of political discourse when you cannot get a group of people together with a common cause and then let people know about it within 60 days of an election? That’s what this law was about, that’s why I am glad it was struck down.

And what I can’t help but wonder is why the people that scream about this decision are seemingly happy that organizations like the ACLU or AFL-CIO are also muzzled. Don’t you want to hear what they have to say about the candidates? Don’t you want others to hear that too? This is what it really comes down to, you cannot limit free speech of a particular group without limiting many others. Hence the language of the 1st amendment :

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

The founding fathers got it right by not referring to individuals, groups, etc. They knew that any limitation on political speech was harmful. If you want freedom of speech, you have to extend it to everyone, no matter how they group themselves. The alternative is to muzzle yourself as well. Free speech for everyone!

Categories
economics

If you’re living high on that cheap credit hog…

… don’t look for cure from the hair of the dog.

That’s one of the many gems in the best, and possibly funniest, econ video I’ve seen in a while. A former prof. of mine collaborated on “Fear the Boom and Bust.” It’s an amazing rap on two competing economic viewpoints. They are also the two that seem most appropriate to the current economic situation. I give “mad props” to them for bringing up concepts like how time and interest coordinate prices, C+I+G=Y, the circular flow of money, and even sticky wages. Some of my favorite moments actually occur before the song starts. “Freddie! Party at the Fed!” The “General Theory…” in place of Gideon’s Bible was a nice touch too. Watch it and learn:-)

Categories
freedom

My take on the latest supreme court ruling

It’s best summarized by Timothy Lee.

“So I’m not thrilled at the idea of Fortune 500 companies spending a ton of money on bogus “issue ads.” But I think the dangers of such ads are frequently exaggerated. I’m far more worried about preserving the right of organizations like the ACLU to spread their message. And I don’t see any plausible way to stop the former without seriously restricting the latter. So I’m glad to see the Supreme Court take the words of the First Amendment — “Congress shall make no law” — literally.”

This ruling doesn’t change the rules about corporate contributions to campaigns, it only addresses the ability of corporations to run political ads within a certain amount of time before an election. “But corporations aren’t people! They shouldn’t hav the same rights as a person.” No, but they are a group of people. I find it odd that so many people support our right to free speech and our right to assemble but oppose our right to free speech when we assemble (HT Warren Meyer).

Categories
odds and ends

Merry Christmas everyone!

Sorry I’ve been out of touch, I really have been busy. Just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a great New Year. I hope to be more active online in the coming year. Have fun!

Categories
odds and ends

Snow

Looking out at the deck in the back, it looks like we got 16-18 inches here. What a day. I called in to work expecting the the “stay home” message but instead was told to come in. Well, I had a little trouble getting out of the parking space I was in, once I did, it was awful driving.

The metro was my destination, there was no way I was going to attempt 395 in weather like that. Got there with no real incident, but then I hesitated. I called in again to make sure that I was needed but didn’t get an answer. So I waited a bit and tried calling again, still no answer. I figured they were actually busy so I got on the train. When I got off the train at Pentagon City, I saw one of the guys I work with on the platform. Tony told me that they were closing the metro so I turned around and got back on the train.

I figured that if I got back to the Springfield metro station, I could get home. In a worse case scenario I could walk it. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I was sure I could do it if I had to. What I didn’t anticipate was WMATA announcing that the train I was on was no longer going to go to Springfield, but to Huntington instead. The Springfield spur had been closed, thanks for riding metro!

I got off at King street figuring I could catch a bus. No, the busses were no longer running. Er, maybe a cab? I looked out and I knew that was hopeless too. Just then I saw a couple more work folks. Bryan and Helen were on the same train, and Helen’s husband was coming to pick her up. Would I like a ride? Oh yes…

The ride back was rather exciting. It turns out the best winter accessory you can have in your car are several more people. The extra weight helps the traction and they come in handy for pushing too… There were cars all over the place, and the roads were a total mess. They dropped me off in front of my favorite eating shopping center on Backlick and kept going. On roads like that, momentum is everything.

The snow was knee deep by the time I got out of the car. Keep in mind that walking along a regular sidewalk causes me to make numerous balance checks. Walking in the snow was a real chore, it’s a miracle that I didn’t fall over.

I ended up sweeping the neighbor’s steps and porch when I got back. It seems as though the guy that helped me dig my car out didn’t take the shovel I borrowed back to the owner like he said he would. SIGH. I have spent most of the rest of the time in bed, under the covers. I’m wiped out. Hopefully the main roads will be clear tomorrow so that I can take the bus over to the train station. The one good thing about all of this is that my car is in the metro garage, I won’t have to dig it out again! I do need to figure out where I’m going to put it though, there aren’t going to be any parking spaces around here for a little while. Maybe the park and ride lot will be plowed soon….

Categories
technology

Google wave and the future

One thing that using wave made me think about is Google’s new Operating system called Chrome. It is still in the development phase, but we already know the basic idea behind it. The way that Google sees it, most people tend to do most stuff on the internet, so why have stuff on the computer at all? Why not just have all of your data and applications on the web?

A wild idea right? Well, not really. Many people already use webmail instead of a mail program on the computer. Google has already shown how useful productivity apps like word processors and spreadsheets can be online through Google office. How many of you use an online photo site like Flicker or Facebook to store your pictures? Banking, streaming music, shopping, watching videos and TV shows, even data storage via cloud servers are now all done online. The Chrome OS is essentially a browser that allows you to have very fast access to everything on the net. The OS itself will actually be at Google, not on the computer really, so viruses and worms won’t be able to affect the computer. Security is all taken care of online, there won’t be any reason to try to gain access to the computer because there essentially won’t be anything on it.

In theory, your computer should be as fast as your internet connection. It’s an exciting concept, and I think it will appeal to a lot of people that consume content (as oppose to making things like music, video, and other media) and don’t want to have to deal with the messiness of backing up data and security issues.

Using Google Wave gave me just an inkling of the potential of doing stuff without an OS on the computer. It will allow you to work in ways that we are just now starting to dream of. Something like wave has the potential to merge word processing, email, wiki creation, and IM on one tab of your browser. Applications will no longer be programs you run on your machine but simply links along the side of your screen. Now that I have FIOS, I can see the potential of online apps. Honestly, I am having trouble imagining anything that I do on a computer that couldn’t be done totally online. Well, eventually, right now I can’t do what I want online because there aren’t equivalents for everything I do online yet. There’s no reason they couldn’t be though…

Chrome won’t be for everyone, not until everyone can get unlimited access to fast internet, but it is an exciting new choice that should be coming in the near future. I can see my next laptop being one running Chrome. I’ll have a big rig for doing my audio, photo, and video stuff on, but for around the house and normal stuff, Chrome will probably be all I need. These are exciting times…

Categories
technology

Google wave

I got a google wave invite several days ago in my inbox. I let it sit there until my brother called up last night and wanted to mess with it. It’s a very interesting program.

At first, I thought it was just another instant messaging program (IM). You can use it like that, but I think it’s a bit cumbersome as compared to other IM clients. One twist Google has put on things is that you can edit the other person’s text, and you can both see that happen in real time. Hmmmm…. maybe it is more than an IM client.

Wave also has a word processing capability. It’s limited, but perfectly capable for normal stuff. So imagine this, you can type up a document and share it with someone else, or a whole group. They can then add to it, edit it, append it, etc. It’s an ideal tool for any collaborative project, for brainstroming if nothing else.

Unlike an IM client, you can leave what you’ve done up and then come back to it later to see what the others have added. So Wave is kind of like a cross between an IM client and email, but everyone you have added to the wave can see the edits in real time so it’s also like a really responsive Wiki application too.

There are all sorts of different content you can put in as well. Here’s a wave I’ve made up with a youtube video embedded in it.

screen-capture-2.png

It’s just as easy to put in Google maps. There are other gadgets out there for Wave, but I haven’t had a chance to mess with them just yet. One of the ones the Google team used that is interesting allows you to put the wave in your blog. That allows all of the same functionality of the wave, the interaction, the editing, etc. in a blog post! As developers work on this, the functionality will continue to expand.

So Google wave is a word processor, IM client, wiki maker, collaborative tool, and email all rolled into one thing. It takes some getting used to in order to take full advantage of it. I can’t say I’m there just yet. I’m still stuck in the either it’s an email OR an IM session mode. I do think that with more use, I’ll get into the rhythm of using it. It’s still early in the game for Wave, but I see big things ahead for it. We just need more gadgets for it, a little smoother operation, and most importantly, a critical mass of people using it. Watch out for Google, they have some big things coming down the pike!