Technology Category Archives
про игрушки
29 July 2013 | Google, History, Internet, Technology | 2 Comments
пару дней назад, кстати, оказался[1] в Chrome Web Lab, и был несказанно удивлен степенью анти-интуитивности и псевдотехнологичности экспозиции — у Google все-таки исключительно свое видение мира, безмерно далекое от всех на свете, и, судя по количеству посетителей, никому особенно и не интересное.
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в остальном же музей вполне милый, на радость всем. попутно так же было несколько стендов о Тьюринге, правда, совсем уж горемычные, никак не Блетчли-парк — однако, все равно не удержался и похмельными руками зачем-то сфотографировал Энигмы. ↩
snowflakes
18 July 2013 | Facebook, Google, Hardware, Software, Technology | No Comments
When I was watching the launch event for Facebook Home, a loud alarm bell started ringing for me when Mark Zuckerberg said words to the effect that “phones should be about more than apps – they should be about people” – by which of course he meant “about Facebook”. The problem with this is that actually, we’ve spent the last 6 years making phones about more than just people. People use Facebook on their phones a LOT, yes, but they do a lot of other things as well[1]. If all I wanted was a phone about people I’d be using a $20 Nokia with a battery that lasts a month.
The same point, I think, applies to Google Glass. If you spend all day in the Googleplex, thinking googly thoughts about data ingestion and Now and the interest graph, then having ‘Google’ hovering in front of your eyes instead of rubbing on a phone seems like a really obvious progression. If everyone you know owns a Tesla and is deeply engrossed in new technology, then the idea that there might be social problems with Glass doesn’t come up – everyone’s too busy saying ‘AWESOME!’. In much the same way, no-one on the Facebook Home team seems to have realised that most people’s news feed isn’t full of perfectly composed photos of attractive friends on the beach.
жизнь суть куда больше, чем рекламный всплеск. и в этом как раз и заключается искусство компромисса: отнюдь не все мы ездим на сегвеях, но все, да, пользуемся телефонами. так и Google Glass, что выглядит, я согласен, достаточно забавно, но — вместе с тем — и чересчур оторванно от действительности.
via.
холодные игрушки
12 July 2013 | History, Technology | No Comments
вот оно, одиночество:
SuitSat (also known as Mr. Smith, Ivan Ivanovich, RadioSkaf, Radio Sputnik and AMSAT-OSCAR 54) was a retired Russian Orlan spacesuit with a radio transmitter mounted on its helmet. SuitSat-1 was deployed in an ephemeral orbit around the Earth on February 3, 2006.
с предсказуемым исходом:
(3 Feb. 2006) Backdropped by the blackness of space and Earth’s horizon, a spacesuit-turned-satellite called SuitSat began its orbit around the Earth after it was released by the Expedition 12 crewmembers during a session of extravehicular activity (EVA) on Feb. 3, 2006. SuitSat, an unneeded Russian Orlan spacesuit, was outfitted by the crew with three batteries, internal sensors and a radio transmitter, which faintly transmitted recorded voices of school children to amateur radio operators worldwide. The suit will enter the atmosphere and burn up in a few weeks.
есть и картинка:
прорастают в мир
7 July 2013 | Geography, Literature, Technology | 3 Comments
или вот, например, еще одно пересечение литературы и мира: сказки Андерсена с привязкой к местности.
не то, чтобы очень интерактивно и показательно, — но хоть как-то.
brave new world
6 July 2013 | Culturology, Sex, Technology | 4 Comments
жизнь меняется незаметно:
I wear a health tracking watch that monitors minute-by-minute my heart rate, calories burned, steps taken, and if I’m sleeping. Anyone who had access to my data, like a spouse, could tell when I was exercising. Most importantly, they would know if I was having sex — and how intense it was.
Indeed, I inadvertently discovered that people knew whether I was engaging in sexual congress after I gave my health tracker data to a friend and he wryly quibbed about my night time activities.
I instantly realized that it will become far more difficult for anyone to cheat on a spouse or fake an orgasm, thanks to a radical transparency in daily exertion that will follow health trackers as they become ubiquitous.
тюремные стены вырастают за ночь.
по движущимся мишеням
19 May 2013 | Censorship, Jurisprudence, Politics, Technology | 3 Comments
новые технологии, определенно, внушают кому-то страх:
Earlier this month the world’s first fully 3D-printed gun was successfully fired and Reason-Rupe finds Americans are torn on 3D technology. A substantial 62 percent of Americans say people should be allowed to use 3D printers in their homes. Among those who say Americans should be allowed to have 3-D printers in their home, a majority (53 percent) say Americans should not be allowed to print their own gun parts, 44 percent say they should.
что, впрочем, и не удивительно:
Last week, the State Department’s arms export office demanded that Defense Distributed remove CAD files for the Liberator from its website.
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In a nutshell, the letter demands the takedown while it decides whether publishing firearms-related CAD files online violates ITAR. ITAR, which stands for the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, are rules that the State Department promulgated under the Arms Export Control Act. One part of ITAR is the United States Munitions List, which is a master list of products and technologies that can’t be exported without prior government approval under a licensing system. Because Defense Distributed didn’t seek an export license, there’s a problem.
но вот какой возникает нюанс:
Why is this a First Amendment case? One of the issues is whether the government can prevent citizens from publishing gun blueprints. A big gateway question, though, is how to characterize Defense Distributed’s CAD files in the first place. Is a CAD file expressive speech that should be protected, or a functional thing that should be regulated?
даже если на какой-то миг отбросить законодательные изыски в сторону, и ограничиться самыми элементарными понятиями, можем ли мы хотя бы для себя определить позицию, которой следовало бы придерживаться в таких условиях? возможность распечатать пистолет? эй, звучит пугающе. необходимость цензуры? черт, это было бы ужасно. контроль за соответствующим оборудованием? помните, как в СССР — за факсами, модемами, копировальными машинами. но разве это хоть когда-нибудь помогало?
так получится ли выработать свое, пусть даже сильно упрощенное, но мнение? на данный момент у меня не выходит.
с новыми силами
7 April 2013 | Lifeform, Technology | No Comments
это протезы, и они чудесны.
особенно “цветочная” нога.
застилая горизонт
26 February 2013 | Google, Hardware, Technology | 1 Comment
про Google Glass:
The difference is, of course, I can put the phone in my pocket the second you start talking to me. It is not part of our conversation and there is no screen alerting me to a new message or enticing me with some video. Putting the phone in my pocket is a way to say, “Okay it’s just you and me talking now.” But wearing that computer on your face is a reminder that, well, you have a damn computer on your face.
Now, don’t get me wrong: I would love to play with a Google Glass! I would love to put it on and walk around the city. I would LOVE to write software for it. I just think it’s claiming to be a replacement for something it is not.
расслоение
20 February 2013 | Culturology, Technology | No Comments
удивительно, как много людей оценивают те же смартфоны или планшетные компьютеры с позиции очередного gadget of some sort, зацикливаясь на технических характеристиках, программном обеспечении, бесконечно настраивая что-нибудь, исправляя, тестируя.
подумайте: мы заходим в магазин и выходим оттуда с доступом ко всем знаниям человечества в кармане. кто из вас затем пользуется этими вратами? кто не просто звонит или играет, но и действительно оказывается в самом настоящем фантастическом романе прошлых лет?
увы, большинству не нужны инструменты, не требуется развитие, они не стоят на плечах гигантов. а нужны лишь миелофон[1] и очередной телевизор.
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like in “wow factor”. ↩
что в имени тебе моем
27 January 2013 | Biology, Hardware, Technology | 1 Comment
пожалуйста, ДНК — это, разумеется, носитель информации:
DNA is the building block of life, but in the future it may also be the standard repository for encyclopedias, music and other digital data. Scientists announced yesterday that they successfully converted 739 kilobytes of hard drive data in genetic code and then retrieved the content with 100 percent accuracy.
с очевидными плюсами:
So what does DNA offer that other data storage methods don’t? One, it can pack data really densely. A single gram of DNA holds more than a million CDs, according to the researchers. Two, DNA lasts a really long time in a range of conditions. It is not nearly as sensitive or fragile as existing data centers. Three, DNA has a reputation for safely storing information: It holds the history of all life on Earth, a tough resumé to top.