Super Concepts

Earth 2.0 - The Movie

2010-02-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

"For the last 8000 years human history has been guided by Earth 1.0, an operating system dependent upon the relentless exploitation of both people and planet alike. Earth 1.0 promotes an obsession with money, profit and personal advantage. Earth 1.0 is sustained by artificial boundaries and stagnant institutions – all held in place by carefully designed weapons of mass destruction. Earth 1.0 cultivates ecological insensitivity and an unhealthy estrangement from the rest of the biosphere – so much so that the very integrity of the web of life has been compromised. In short, Earth 1.0 is corrupt and unsustainable.

In contrast, the operating principles of the all new Earth 2.0 upgrade are based upon global co-operation – between one another and with the rest of the web of life. Earth 2.0 promotes the dissolution of artificial boundaries and the creation of a sustainable human culture in accord with the rest of Nature."

"Symbiosis and cybernation will become buzzwords for the new paradigm."

Find out more at the official Blog of the Under-Construction Movie here: http://earth2movie.blogspot.com/

Augmented Hyper Reality

2010-02-02T09:53:00.000-08:00

"The latter half of the 20th century saw the built environment merged with media space, and architecture taking on new roles related to branding, image and consumerism. Augmented reality may recontextualise the functions of consumerism and architecture, and change in the way in which we operate within it."

Augmented (hyper)Reality: Domestic Robocop from Keiichi Matsuda on Vimeo.

Times Have Changed

2010-02-01T14:27:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of XKCD

Click image to view full size.

Tablet Explosion

2010-01-21T05:32:00.000-08:00

This year is going to see a revolution. Its impact will be profound. The sudden feasibility of "e-readers" and tablets, and their expanded applications, are set to have a largely unexplored impact. Previously expensive and not as usable as real books, they have finally come of age, giving us cheap technology that is as readable as a piece of paper.

No more physical media, less waste

There is absolutely no reason to collect and horde physical media any more, and now, the same thing will be true for books. Imagine the reduced quantity of trees that will need to be felled if e-books and magazines are adopted by the majority of the population (and in due time, they will be).

Mass adoption of e-tablets and i-pads could also finally see the the realisation of the "paperless office". The practicality of this way of working finally looks set to become better than dealing with paper and printouts, so will hopefully bring unforeseen applications as well.

This is yet another way in which technology, and therefore the engineers, are saving the environment instead of the green movement. Yes we need to look at our consumption. But in many ways, technology can provide the means to reduce our impact while maintaining growth.

Blurring line between "real" books and "ameteur" more prominent than previous mediums like videos

Anybody can make an e-book. Yet they've never really been as big as "real" books because of their lack of readability on a PC screen. Now this has changed, we can expect to see a resurgence in e-books created by every man and his dog.

This will of course lead to a lot of junk, but could also see the birth of many new stars. (And when I say "stars", I don't mean like Afro Ninja, but more established online commodities such as ProBlogger and Steve Pavlina.) It will certainly become harder to tell who is an established publisher and who is "new in town", and indeed, it will begin to matter less.

Of course, this is going to find publishers struggling if they don't find a new business model fast, as people question their usefulness.

Increase in Piracy

Let's not kid ourselves. e-books are already rife on file sharing sites. With more users this will increase exponentially. And as the demand increases, as will the range. Writers, you may get rid of the publishers, but soon, it's possible nobody will be earning much from creating publications.

Best you do it for the love of it, then.

Educational Impact

Once tablet PCs are as established as mobile phones, there will be no reason that they are not adopted in the classroom. The applications are unlimited. With wireless network capabilities, the teacher can link to all their student's devices. Augmented reality on a big screen can bring all sorts of new learning experiences.

It's also likely that this, combined with the new possibilities of tablets, will provide more opportunities for remote learning.

Animation and Interaction

Reading plain text is as old as the hills, and illustrations failed to radically change the landscape of books. However, animation, interaction, augmented reality, internet connectivity, and all the other as-yet-un-thought-of applications that a tablet will provide will add many new dimensions to reading.

Textbooks could incorporate Q&A sections, research projects, even practical guides for many topics. They can be updated remotely with the latest knowledge. Your favourite data can be bookmarked and compiled.

Fiction could be broken up with video-game adventures, cut scenes, and background information downloads. It could even lose its linear format, bringing the ultimate "Choose your own adventure" experiences. It's highly unlikely that traditional books will die, but the range of possibilities will certainly bring new and interesting choice to the marketplace.

2nd Time Lucky?

A lot of technologies emerge and fail because of a lack of practicality. Often they stay dead, but occasionally, they return when the technology reaches a level where they can be practical. I believe this is the dawn of the the tablet PC's revenge. The issues they had in the past are gone, and their cultural, practical, and commercial possibilities are just too great now for them to fail.

Of course, let's not forget the most significant cultural change. Suddenly, reading is going to become "cool". Maybe.

More info

Courier: First Details of Microsoft's Secret Tablet
'Major' Apple announcement coming January 27th, devs already working with beta SDK (update: shipping in March)

Newsworthy Transhumanism?

2009-12-27T14:31:00.000-08:00

A guy tries to blow up another aeroplane, and the news networks both mainstream and alternative have something to talk about for the next month. Yet the massive and accellerating breakthroughs in science and technology rarely get a look in. Is this good or bad?

People being kept in the dark about the true current state of technology keeps them in a false-reality, a world where the possibilities of the singularity and life extension don't even exist, or are at best nothing but science fiction. This illusion they inhabit causes naivety that can lead to the worst consequences; stem cell bans, creationism teaching, even anti-progress activism.

The worst consequence, however, is lack of education. Without awareness or knowledge of the true state of technology, its imminent possibilities, or an appreciation for its accellerating nature, education systems continue to fail in their duties. Burying their heads in the paradigms of history, instead of preparing for the rapidly approaching future, the academia release wave after wave of stagnated students who are not even aware of impending social and technological change.

Without this awareness, how can we possibly hope to develop singularity-focussed solutions in an efficient manner?

Transhumanists are fully aware of the possible future that awaits them; that of longer, healthier lifespans, enhanced intelligence, greater human efficiency, and environmental saviour. With this awareness comes immense frustration at the technical difficulties faced at every step of the way.

These technological difficulties could be solved so much quicker if our children left school with the drive and anticipation fostered from more awareness of future possibilities. Just imagine the passion of a child able to program their own robot, or develop their own stem cell therapies. Also, with more preparation and knowledge of the problems faced, they could focus their skills and knowledge into more practical areas. With more analytical skills, they would have the thinking power and imagination to solve engineering problems more efficiently.

Instead, fear is their focus, and ignorance keeps them in the dark. If things continue this way, we might not have anyone left to create the singularity.

On the other hand, if people become aware of just where technology is headed - if they can see its true benefits and the implications it could have on us all - then things might just speed up.

Image courtesy renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Virtually Human?

2009-12-17T05:52:00.000-08:00

As humans, we are motivated and driven by our needs. Our primary needs are physiological; food, sex, and comfort. At the current state of society, these needs are quite often not met, leading to all kinds of consequences.

In fully realised virtual immersion, satisfying these needs is as simple as programming the environment. The implications of this are profound, and will change the fabric of society.

Even now we see the impact of desires being met with virtual reality. Millions of online gamers are able to live virtual lives that are better than real lives, having adventures, being different people, and fulfilling their fantasies, albeit via a keyboard and monitor. Not only does this cause reduced productivity for society, it changes our psyches.

In realising that these fantasies are possible, our general expectations in life are altered. Our priorities are distorted.

Our morals and ethics are altered by the alternative environments we occupy - we are a product of our environments after all. If our environment provides us with all we need, we remove many aspects of our humanity in an instant, both positive and negative.

As well as our environments, we are defined by our bio-chemistry. Testosterone changes men's personality as estrogens does women's. What happens when we can control the brain more intimately and more precisely by artificial means in a similar way to hormones?

Without food, where do we focus our efforts? With ultimate sex, what impact does this have on relationships, sexuality, love, friendship, reproduction, or even sex? What will become of violence without anything to cause it? Without suffering, will we retain the concept of good with nothing to contrast it?

What will we become without the primitive animal urges that made us human in the first place?

Image by myvirtuallady

Microsoft's Answer to Google Chrome OS

2009-08-11T04:55:00.000-07:00

Future Art, Beyond Traditional Concepts

2009-08-10T04:52:00.000-07:00

Promises, By Starax Statosky - Image courtesy Sl-Art-News

I was inspired by this recent TED talk about "Art that looks back at you". It seems the potential for expression of art is limited only by our imagination.

Modern technology allows for new forms of art to be created, but by this I don't just mean different painting techniques using sophisticated software, but entirely new concepts. We can now use computers, robotics, and perhaps even biological manipulations to create new expressions and to represent profound ideas.

Where chemistry created the medium of fireworks, biology can now take us on previously unthinkable artistic journeys. Extreme body modification such as this seen in bmezine, shows identical twins who experiment with transplanting each other's limbs in the wrong places on each other's bodies. And you thought your tattoo made you "transhuman".

Imagine glowing implants, far more beautiful and colourful than any tatoo, animating through your skin. Or perhaps circuitry can be connected directly to your nerve endings, performing actions such as flashes or movements when fired by your brain? Why stop at replacing lost limbs when entirely new body parts can be added, not just for functionality, but for aesthetic appeal?

Body modifications and upgrades are just the beginning. Manipulating our cells and DNA can provide all sorts of potential, from reptile skin to the ability to spin spider silk.

However, despite seemingly unlimited potential for body upgrades, the possibilities fade in comparison to the artistic potential opened up by virtual reality. We've already seen body manipulation here, this is nothing new. What is really exciting about virtual reality is its potential to rewrite the very meaning of existence.

In virtual reality, art can be represented in a more interactive way than in reality. Creations that allow interaction can achieve artistic concepts with both their interactive configuration and their feedback. For example, a large virtual book can read out poetry and vary the tone according to the actions of the user.

Yet neither the interaction nor the feedback needs to be confined by the restraints of reality. The book can be replaced by a metaphor, as can the feedback, and even the interaction. Such concepts that we take for granted, such as time and space, need not even apply in virtual art.

In this technological world, a wonderland of possibilities exist to create a whole new paradigm of art.

Not Quite the Future We Expected

2009-03-04T09:05:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of http://www.hotforwords.com

To Know is to Control

2009-03-02T01:12:00.000-08:00

What are the implications of storing a complete record of your life online?

More than likely, you'll be halfway towards this already. Facebook has your friends. Google has your search history, your emails and your documents. Microsoft has your chat history. Last.fm has your taste in music. Delicious has your interests. Twitter has your random thoughts. And all this is voluntary. Imagine what they may be doing with this data, when it's all brought together, what will it tell them about you? It's no surprise that Google is buying everything.

Of course it's worrying, but I suppose it's not the end of the world if some big corporation has your information. It's not even anything new, credit card companies have been doing it for decades.

The issue now though is that the information mined is more detailed and complete than it's ever been before. And it's all owned by American companies. Companies who, thanks to the patriot act, have to hand over any information the US government asks for.

However, the problem is not what they will do with one person's information. It's what they will do with all of it.

Social control is a relatively simple practice. If the government knows enough about its society, it can play off its fears, play up to its desires, and essentially manipulate the populace with counter-information spread via its mainstream media. It's not a new practice, but it is getting a lot easier for those who hold the information.

If you don't think that this is what really happens, you probably think that Obama's success was real. ;-P

Knowledge truly is power.

Reverend Meets His Maker

2009-03-01T23:29:00.000-08:00

A bit of humour for a Monday.

Go Retro

2008-12-01T04:25:00.000-08:00

Retro gaming is a bizarre phenomenon. Being a technology driven medium, games go through generations in just a few years. However, the differences between generations is more profound than technological advances. It seems that more advanced possibilities change the entire landscape of gaming culture.

Retro gaming is a growing trend, but it is becoming hard to define. There are so many generations of games now, all differing so significantly, that the definition of retro changes according to age, tastes, and personal nostalgia. It's not enough to simply say "Retro means old" any more.

The reason for this blurring of definition, is that games advanced so fast, that human creativity couldn't even keep up. To understand this, remember how old 8-Bit games had such primitive sound, yet the creators did what they could to make the sounds good. We still remember the old music with fondness, not as impressed by today's music that was created with no limitations.

It was the limitations that made the old games so good. It forced the creators to focus on gameplay, and on doing as much as they could with the little they had. Of course, as technology advanced so rapidly, game creators didn't need to do this for long. It's this limited time frame that seems to have inspired the retro-remake scene.

Just as there are some people who perform entire concerts using the original Game Boy, there are others who are remixing old music in a modern style, yet keeping the original feel. And now, the entire community of Street Fighter fans came together to make an updated, but still-true-to-its-original-form, version of Street Fighter 2.

What these ventures go to show, is that there is a lot of potential for art if we look back at opportunities missed. There is so much left unexplored because of the incredible acceleration of technology. There are so many possibilities that have passed us by, not just in art, but in culture, and in application of technology. A prime example of this would be the Nintendo Wii, it ignores the advances of technology and focuses on providing new experiences, new solutions.

So why not stop waiting for tomorrow, and take a look around? Why not try and do the best we can with what we have, embracing limitation for a moment before eradicating it?

Otherwise, the doors will be broken down before we've had a chance to explore the room.

E=MC/Consciousness?

2008-11-28T00:37:00.000-08:00

Consciousness has clearly been a major factor in the human race becoming so advanced. It has changed us from passive animals, living within the confines of nature, to active sentient beings, controlling it.

As we think of the future, when we will learn to control more and more of nature, it is obvious that consciousness is a component of the universe that is cataclysmic. Whether given to us deliberately or not, the conscious mind has the potential to become a major active component of the universe. It is for this reason, that I believe consciousness is more than just a driving force, it is inevitable.

By this, I mean that consciousness is not just something that evolves, but is actually a component of the universe's existence. I've believed for some time that consciousness is an attribute that's been missing from our science, that perhaps it is another "dimension", like space and time, another contributing factor that has been left out of scientific equations thus rendering them incomplete.

How do we incorporate consciousness into scientific experiments? First we need to understand more about the human mind, and perhaps how it differs from animal minds - if indeed it does. Memories, dreams, deja vu, and meditation are all phenomena that we are yet to fully understand. There is much that happens in the mind on the subatomic level, that which is subject to quantum mechanics, and these conditions make it extremely difficult to set up legitimate scientific experiments.

For a couple of hundred years, science has been objective, but it's becoming obvious as we learn more about quantum physics that the observer is a vital element of such experiments. Perhaps it's time to think about bringing the subjective back to science.

Further reading:

Time Travelling Quantum Computing

2008-11-27T02:43:00.000-08:00

For those of you who read my article "The Galactic Internet", you may find this article fascinating.

It discusses the potential time-curve issues of sending output data back in time as an input to itself. Get your head around that one...

Turning VR Inside Out

2008-11-20T03:55:00.000-08:00

This video shows how RFID can help improve control over stock inventory both in real world and virtual world situations. With the current state of virtual reality, it's unlikely that virtual supermarkets will take off. They're just too...clunky. However, one distinct possibility is a reversal. Computer controlled reality.

RFID will play a large part in this. The data it will provide will change the way we look at reality. By reporting and recording our locations and activities, it will digitise us - turning us into real life avatars.

In virtual reality, everything we do can be recorded. The software can record our every movement and interaction. This will soon be possible in real life, thanks to RFID and our interactions with computer interfaces.

Real life benefits will get us to adopt the data collection methods without question. Contact lenses or eventually brain modifications of some kind could provide us with a computer interface while in the real world. In the meantime, we'll have to make do with the iPhone. Right click a person on the street to see that person's shared details - subscribe to their Twitter feed or download their blog. Perhaps they could, from time to time, broadcast from their own eyes, allowing you to essentially inhabit their body. Extreme sports participants could make a fortune out of this, especially once physical sensations can be shared.

The information recorded about us will then take a similar shape to credit card records of the present, only far more in depth. This is not conspiracy paranoia, this is based purely on the corporations' desires (and our own) to record our data. Our purchases already provide a profile of us. In the future, our travel could be logged to provide "statistical data" for the authorities. Our work history and qualifications could be recorded in new and interesting ways. An extremely in-depth analysis of our health could be recorded on a continual basis and shared with our doctor. With enough information about enough of our actions, and the profile that is put together could eventually create some serious possibilities. What if our past could be mapped out so accurately that our future could be predicted?

Think about it; if you know the exact position, mass, and direction of every particle in the universe, in theory you should be able to predict their next moves, based on what is around them and the current laws of physics. Although chaos theory puts a dampener on this, human beings are far more predictable. With enough historical and psychological data on a person, which can be collected post hoc in a triple blind test method, we can provide immensely powerful speculation techniques. Prediction of entire populations needn't be far behind.

But you don't need me to tell you about this. Isaac Asimov's been talking about it for years. I just don't think he imagined we'd make it so easy.

Google Lively No More

2008-11-20T00:27:00.000-08:00

Well, what I can I say. After yesterday's blog about virtual worlds losing their way, it turns out that Google's attempt, Lively, is closing down after just 5 months. Personally I blame this on the fact that it sucked, more than any profound VR implications.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/lively-no-more.html

The Future of Tele-Coverage

2008-11-19T23:32:00.000-08:00

I noticed with interest the difference between:

Michael Anissimov's review of how Second Life and IRC affected Transvision 06
and
George Dvorsky's comments on Twitter's impact on Convergence 08.

There appears to be a number of advantages and disadvantages to each medium. While Second Life allows those not in attendance to interact with the conference, it requires a lot of commitment. Resources need to be invested in an account, downloaded client software, a powerful computer with a lot of hard drive space, and a good net connection. Even if those things are not an issue, Second Life requires your full attention, you have to control your avatar, its camera, and inventory. Even for a seasoned veteran, the interface is extremely clunky (albeit powerful).

Twitter on the other hand provides a very casual way to stay in touch both in and at the conference. It can be accessed in many different ways, including RSS reader, phone, browser or desktop client, as well as the webpage. It's simple and it gives the user a choice, with little commitment. By all accounts it also provided a great feel to the event.

So, is this the future? Are we no longer interested in fully immersed virtual worlds, instead content with streams of text? What has the world come to?

It certainly seems to be the case. Look at the rise of RSS over the past year. We want our information without the frills. And we want it personalised.

The generic virtual world has failed to evolve with the rest of the internet. It's lagging behind and dooming itself to extinction.

There's talk on the net of the next generation of virtual worlds being server generated. There will be no need to download clunky software, a simple browser is all it will take to have photo-realistic graphics. Ease of use and low commitment are desperately needed to keep virtual reality alive. However, the most desperate requirement is a larger step away from reality.

That's not to say that the worlds themselves should become less realistic, but the interfaces and the features need to be brought more in line with current trends. The closest Second Life comes to what I'm talking about is the mini browser within it. There should be far, far, far more integrated services. RSS feeds, interaction with blogs and forums, and data inputs should be a given. A necessity is improved interaction. The reason Second Life is losing so much ground at the moment is because it's so hard to use, and more casual virtual worlds are emerging. Creating simple objects or performing simple gestures should be easy.

You should have access to your virtual world account and everything about it without having to invoke the virtual senses. In other words, you could be present in the virtual world without an avatar, and without being able to see the world where your presence is residing, but you will still be able to interact with the conversations in that area, make transactions, and perform actions relating to your virtual account.

So what, in that case, would be the point of the virtual world? Well, the interface still offers a level of interaction not found in text based communication. It transmits body language, atmosphere, and imagination. It allows the user to be anything, and to do anything, and to go anywhere. Technically, it has the potential to provide a rich environment to interact with remote events, but it's currently falling desperately short.

Perhaps VR still has a part to play in tele-coverage and communication, but at the moment it's just taking a break, waiting for both the technology and the people behind the software to come up with new and innovative virtual concepts.

Technology - Will it set us Free?

2008-11-15T05:18:00.001-08:00

When computers were first invented, users had complete freedom and power, there was no other option but to allow it. However, if they didn't follow the computer's strict set of rules, the computer would break or just not work. Even in the days of Windows 3.11, computers remained obscure and frightening to the masses.

Once computers infiltrated more and more of our lives, it became necessary to remove the need to for "user rules", computers had to become "user friendly". Computers were forced to shed their unforgivable interfaces in order to increase their popularity.

So now, computers, when used by the general public, no longer have that level of freedom. To avoid them being used wrongly, computers simply limit the options general users are allowed to access. Then, instead of telling users how to act, they simply guide users through their processes, anticipating rule-breaking, and absolving responsibility. Users lost their fear of computers, complying with the rules not because they are asked to, but because any possibility of breaking them is simply removed. General users no longer have raw power over computers, they just follow the guidelines provided for them to achieve what they need from the machine. As such, even the desire to break the rules is diminished.

A direct parallel can be applied to politics. Now, people are told not to speed on the roads because it's dangerous. Not everyone follows these rules so we need police and legal systems to deal with the rule breakers. In the future, technology will simply stop your car from being able to speed, absolving you of responsibility. In the future, and it's happening already, technology will remove the need for rules, because it will completely remove the possibility of wrong doing. It will absolve our responsibility.

Your car will be computer controlled and therefore it will be impossible to speed it, drive it off a road, or crash it. Your TV simply won't show adult content if it detects a child in the room. It will be physically impossible to steal, as all items will be installed with an RFID chip, tracking their location and ownership at all times. Alcohol dispensing machines won't work if, upon checking your RFID chip with the government database, it realises that you're underage.

In the even more distant future, nanobots will prevent us from damaging our bodies with unhealthy habits. They may even control our brains to remove criminal elements or immoral desires. Virtual reality could provide us with an environment where it is impossible to do anything wrong, because the computer interface doesn't allow it. Alternatively, virtual reality could provide the means for wrong doing to be carried out with no consequences.

It is often said that technology will set us free. Certainly the need for law enforcement and ruling government will diminish at the hands of technology. But is this destined to put us in a dictator's ultimate fantasy, or an incredibly free yet safe society?

$10K Prize for Virtual Innovation

2008-11-11T00:42:00.000-08:00

It looks like Linden Labs need some publicity, offering a $10K prize for innovation "that improves the way people work, learn and communicate in their daily lives outside of the virtual world."

http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/2008/11/linden-announces-10k-prize-for-realvirtual-innovation.html

Has anyone told Tad Williams?

It's Time to Stop Aging. Spread the Word.

2008-11-10T06:31:00.000-08:00

Imagine the person you love, someone you have known for decades, someone who has become the very meaning of your life, suddenly, and unexpectedly has a stroke. Their body is crippled to near uselessness, relinquishing them of their dignity. And, having lost the ability to communicate with them, you're not even sure if their mind is as it was, if they're even able to recognise you any more. Your best friend has become a dependent.

Then, come and tell me that campaigns and research to cure aging are "against god's will".

Curing aging is not about "playing god". It is not about living forever. It's about freedom from the suffering of aging. It's about doing what mankind has always done: using the tools of science and technology to ease human suffering. If "god" had wanted us to grow old, frail, and crippled, he would also want us to continue to die of the common cold, diarrhoea, or dysentery. Instead, we have created the means to easily prevent death from these illnesses, allowing us to live longer and healthier lives than we did a century ago. There is no difference in curing the seven causes of aging. There is absolutely no reason we should not take every step necessary to give us healthier, longer lives, free from the frailty of aging. In fact, like those old illnesses, it would be cruel and irresponsible of us not to.

Being a future enthusiast, there are many things I am interested in. I often talk about gadgets, social change, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and space exploration. However, curing aging is the most important aspect of future technology. This is obviously so that we can have more time to explore all the other exciting aspects of the future. Anti-aging must be our priority.

Enter the Campaign for Aging Research. This fast growing cause is helping by showing the world that aging is wrong. You can help by volunteering, donating, or simply learning more at their websites. Awareness is the first step of the battle. Learn about the seven causes of aging, and then spread the word.

The Cause: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/56022

The Group: http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=28215236074

The Website: http://healthyyears.org/

Lest We Forget

2008-11-09T16:08:00.000-08:00

Today I went to church.

Now before you all hurl your computers out the window in disgust, allow me to explain.

I'm currently living in Sweden where, due to 200 years of neutrality and peace (which according to the priest can be attributed to their secularism, a strange admission), they don't commemorate Remembrance day. However, being British, I wanted to pay my respects to the service men and women who have fought and died for me in wars past and present, so I went along to the Remembrance day service at a small English Anglican church.

I haven't been to church for a very long time, I only set foot in them when family members deem it necessary to host weddings, christenings and funerals. When I do, anger sets in as I think of all the suffering they have caused, the money they have wasted, and the stupidity they continue to spread through our societies. My anger increases as priests misconstrue the facts in order to justify their existence, manipulating their flock with emotional button pressing. And when we were told how much we had sinned and how we should commit to being more faithful and responsible, it was all I could do not to storm out in disgust.

The congregation were a keen bunch, praying enthusiastically, and overflowing the collection baskets with large notes. I felt pity and shame for them, their need for faith, hope, and community fulfilled by parasitical authority, their trust and honesty abused in the name of ancient lies.

But I wasn't there to get annoyed by religion. I was there to remember those who have fought, suffered, and died for me. To thank them, not god. That their lives have been taken by ignorance, that we are still manipulated into fighting for irrelevancies such as race, religion, or country, is of little consequence. That those truly responsible for their suffering, the authorities of government and religion, not only continue to get away with it but profit from the suffering, matters not.

The fact is, they did what they thought was right for the good of mankind. Their bravery and selflessness has given us the freedom so that one day we might never have suffering again. My gratitude is exceeded only by my resolve to ensure they did not suffer in vain.

At the going down of the sun,
and in the morning,
we will remember them.

New Virtual World for Casual Gamers

2008-11-08T23:51:00.000-08:00

Israel-based Funtactix have just officially launched Moondo. Moondo is not quite a virtual world per se, but it allows users to carry a single identity and inventory across multiple 3D online games. Although the future of a fully portable avatar looks unlikely, this is certainly one way of achieving some degree of portability. And we all know how big casual gaming can potentially be.

“Many mainstream gamers do not have the time to invest in MMO games or the budget for a high-end console,” Funtactix CEO Sam Glassenberg said. “The beauty of Moondo is that anyone can jump into one of its free online games and experience 3D visually intense, action-packed game sessions unlike any other casual game on the web. We welcome any gamer who feels they have skills to check out this exciting new universe of games.”

Duty Calls

2008-11-07T01:09:00.000-08:00

The End of the World Wide Web?

2008-11-06T03:38:00.000-08:00

I now have a very organised and efficient way of working online, thanks to a few great companies coming together and integrating their services.

First of all, I use the magnificent Firefox to access the world at large. I had a go with Google Chrome, but found it hard to live without the vast array of Plug-ins Firefox provides. And the less said about Internet Explorer the better.

Firefox allows me to display my favourite bookmarks along a bar beneath my toolbar, for quick and easy access to my main websites. One such button is the "Share on Facebook" link, allowing me to share any page I find of interest instantly and easily. The whole toolbar is invaluable, although it's not a benefit exclusive to Firefox.

As you will see, I am a slave to the Google Corporation. Google allows me to store and work on all my documents ONLINE, meaning I rarely have to use Open Office again. (Anyone who is still paying for Micro$oft Office needs their head seeing to...)

Google also provides Google Reader. This allows me to see all the latest news feeds from all of my favourite sites, in one place. They can be categorised, shared, stared for later, and notes added. Needless to say Google reader also displays rich content such as pictures and videos.

Next I installed the Del.icio.us Add-on. (Which I recently learnt is owned by Yahoo, sorry Google!) This is a great add-on that takes over my bookmarks menu, giving me a lot more power over my bookmarked sites. Now all my sites are stored online, shared with friends, and I get to see what they share. Also, using the buttons on Firefox make it much faster than using a Del.icio.us Bookmark Toolbar button. And one more sexy option, right clicking on any link allows me to instantly bookmark it. So easy...

In the bottom right of my browser, is my pièce_de_résistance. A popup Google Notebook which is fully integrated into the browser allows easy cutting and pasting. A Twitter tool called TwitterFox pretty much turns Twitter into an Instant Messenger (albeit not a very private one), showing me the latest Twitted items and letting me post Twits without having to go to the Twitter page. And the Delicious add-on also lets me know when new items are shared in my network.

Finally, all of these awesome features are integrated into my iGoogle page.

What conclusion can be drawn from this integration of systems? Well they've got me thinking - why have web pages at all? We're now finding that what we want from the web is content, not fancy designed websites. The tools needed for dealing with this content can theoretically, all be integrated into our browsers, allowing us to never even visit a normal website the whole time we're online. Or websites containing applications such as iGoogle could retrieve and distribute all the data we need for our online activities.

Every interaction I now have with websites involves me either reading or inputting, for one reason or another. Text, images, or video being the main forms of data.

Google Chrome tried to strip away the tools of the browser, giving us direct access to websites. This will only be successful if all websites take the approach of having a generic layer of tools integrated into them. This may well be happening with the growth of AJAX powered web applications. But if it doesn't, then we're going to need those tools integrated into our browsers. Either way, these tools are going to shift the focus away from website presentation, and towards content delivery.

Could this mean the end of the WWW as we know it, or the Browser?

President Obama and Technology

2008-11-05T01:50:00.000-08:00

The nation, or indeed the world, is united in celebration as America elects its first ever black president. Emotions fill you as you listen to his charismatic speeches and his crescendo of promises. Hope is the word of the hour.

Stop. Lets get this in perspective. Not only is Obama a politician, and still, therefore, a manipulator of people, but he doesn't have all the power you think he has. I urge caution in putting all faith in him.

Politics is at last losing its grip on society. Technology, as predicted, is setting us free. The implications of the massive advances in technology predicted over the next 50 years are phenomenal, and they will have a bigger, and more profound impact on society than politics ever has.

However, that's not to say that the new president won't play a part in these changes. Not as big a part as I believe he could have, but still, there are some significant promises. Let's go through some of Obama's policies, namely those that I believe are most relevant to the technology community.

Obama's Technology Policy Document:

Ensure an open Internet.
Create a transparent and connected democracy.
Encourage a modern communications infrastructure.
Prepare all of our children for a 21st century economy.
Improve America's competitiveness.
Employ science and technology to solve our nation's most pressing problems.

Full Detailed List here: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/technology/

Other Policies:

Energy and the Environment

Requires all new vehicles to run on bio-fuel
Looking into clean coal
Proposed giving US health coverage in exchange for more hybrid production
Suggested $150 Billion over 10 years to the development of bio-fuel and other renewable sources
Supports capping emissions and giving incentives to corporations who cut greenhouse gases

Civil Liberties

Will expand Hate Crimes Statutes, the Matthew Shepherd Act
Voted YES on expanding the Patriot Acts wiretap provision
Open to Medical Marijuana
Voted for increasing the minimum wage
Does not support gay marriage, thinks it should be decided by individual states
Will create a program for employers to easily verify an applicant's immigration status

Health

Supports giving Medicare the ability to negotiate lower drug prices
Supports efforts allowing seniors to buy lower priced drugs in Canada and import them
Supports federally funded embryonic stem cell research

Looking over these policies, I have some concerns about his civil liberties policies, namely the expansion of the Patriot Act. This is an issue that needs to be watched closely. I'm also concerned about the energy and environmental promises. Seeing that he is looking into clean coal, and pumping so much money into hybrid production begs the question: Has Obama not heard of Accelerating Change?

His Technology policies display the worst ignorance of Accelerating Change that I can see. Obama has a real chance to prepare America to lead the world in this coming era. However, as technology advances hit the exponential advancement curve, he remains linear in his approach, entertaining ideas that are not just doomed to obsolescence, but already behind the times. As yet I have seen little evidence to suggest that he is ready to take on the challenges set by the implications of Accelerating Change.

Let me conclude by saying that I am not Anti-Obama, I am Anti-Politics. I truly hope that a great change can be brought about by this new leadership, and that many problems can be solved. However, I would just like to remind you to stay vigilant, to not rest on our laurels and assume that Obama is going to deliver everything he promised. But most of all I want you to realise, the great changes that lie before us are not even in Obama's hands. Technology and Education are going to change the world, not politicians. Watch how the amazing advances in science and technology increase in frequency over the next few years, bringing about untold changes to society. Look at how the mobile phone and the Internet have changed our lives - well that was just a warm up for the incredible future ahead of us.

Educate yourself on the goings on around you, prepare yourself for the implications that technology will have on your life and the world you live in, and stop worshipping the false idol that is politics.

Sources:
http://www.obama-mccain.info/index-obama-mccain.php
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/technology/