Mitch Wagner's Blog

Tor.com is re-watching old "Star Trek" episodes

2010-03-21T11:29:29-07:00

Bloggers at Tor.com are re-watching episodes of the original Star Trek , and writing up detailed reviews, one episode at a time. The original Trek is the only one I ever really loved, and so reading their reviews is a lot of fun.

This week, they look at the episode "The Deadly Years," in which Kirk, Spock, and the gang are exposed to an illness that prematurely ages them. They find it's one of the best of the series.

It felt appropriate that Kirk and the others afflicted aren’t so much scared of death as they are of senility.... [B]eyond the competency and the identity issues the worst part of their affliction is the loss of dignity. It’s humiliating. That’s what makes it so terrifying, so sad, and so moving.

I haven't seen this episode since I was in my early teens. I wonder how I'd react to it now that I'm 14 years older than Kirk?

Star Trek Re-Watch: “The Deadly Years”

Science fiction writer Peter Watts may serve two years for failing to promptly obey a customs officer

2010-03-21T10:19:57-07:00

Cory Doctorow writes on Boing Boing:

I've spent the last day in a funk at the news that my friend, Canadian sf writer Peter Watts was convicted of obstruction for getting out of his car at a US Border crossing and asking what was going on, then not complying fast enough when he was told to get back in the car. He faces up to two years in jail.

Cory adds:

That's apparently the statute: if you don't comply fast enough with a customs officer, he can beat you, gas you, jail you and then imprison you for two years. This isn't about safety, it isn't about security, it isn't about the rule of law.
It's about obedience.

Authoritarianism is a disease of the mind. It criminalizes the act of asking "why?" It is the obedience-sickness that turns good people into perpetrators and victims of atrocities great and small.

Terrible.

Peter Watts may serve two years for failing to promptly obey a customs officer

Watching the new TV show "Justified"

2010-03-20T12:33:27-07:00

Julie and I caught up with it last night. It looks great, with excellent use of Kentucky scenery. The music is evocative and bluesy. The dialogue is laconic and tough, with notes of humor. The acting is fine, particularly Timothy Olyphant, who played Seth Bullock on Deadwood.

Olyphant's role in Justified is similar to Seth Bullock. Here he plays Deputy U.S Marshal Raylan Givens, sent against his will from a prestigious post in Miami back to his home town in Kentucky after he publicly shoots a gunrunner poolside at a luxury hotel. Olyphant is good at this kind of role; Givens, like Bullock, is a decent lawman with a good heart, powerful sense of justice, and deep and forceful wellsprings of suppressed rage.

Also standing out is Joelle Carter, who plays Ava Crowder. Ava was a girl when Raylan Givens left home, and she had a crush on him, but she was too young for him. She's not too young for him now. She's beautiful, smart, sexy, and makes it very clear that he can have her any time he wants her. Which is great for Raylan. On the other hand, she just might be batshit crazy, which is a liability in a potential romantic partner.

I have two problems with this show: One is a feeling that I've seen it all before. It looks like about a million atmospheric crime shows and movies I've seen over the years, going all the way back to "48 Hrs."

The other problem I have with this show is that it's so very, very violent. The body count is at least a dozen. I'm increasingly become concerned with that in TV and movies.

I'll give it another try. This was just the first episode, maybe it will find its voice and deal with the violence more effectively.

Internet filtering as a form of soft censorship

2010-03-19T08:09:32-07:00

My latest on the Computerworld Tool Talk blog:

The Internet is a powerful tool for education. But teachers are often unable to use it effectively because of clumsy Web filtering tools installed in schools, says Professor Craig Cunningham, of National-Louis University.

Schools routinely install Internet filtering software, designed to protect students from porn, hate speech, and other inappropriate content, as well as shield the children from sexual predators, and from wasting time on social media sites when they should be learning, Cunningham said.

But the filters are put in place without adequate forethought, blocking sites that should be accessible, and vice-versa. Schools don't take an active role in deciding which sites should be blocked, abdicating that responsibility to the private, for-profit vendors who sell the products. The result is that students are deprived of education, Cunningham said.

Read the rest: Internet filtering as a form of soft censorship

I love this part: "He quoted form a National Research Council study, "Youth, Pornography, and the Internet:" "Swimming pools can be dangerous for children. To protect them, one can install locks, put up fences, and deploy pool alarms. All these measures are helpful, but by far the most important things one can do for one's children is to teach them to swim."

Get organized with these notebook apps for the Mac

2010-03-18T08:22:48-07:00

My latest on the Computerworld Tool Talk Blog

I've been looking around for Mac software to help me with journaling and keeping track of small scraps of information. I've never found anything satisfactory, but I never stop trying.

I'm trying to solve two problems, both related to starting a business. I'm learning how to do new things every day, and I want to keep track of these tricks, so that I don't have to reinvent the wheel in a month or a year when I'm faced with the same problem again.

The other problem is journaling. I want to keep track of what I'm doing every day, because clients want progress reports, and it's better to be able to keep those as you go.

Me getting ready to go out for a walk

2010-03-17T15:33:00-07:00

Julie took this picture this afternoon

Apple iPad accessories delayed, and other Apple news

2010-03-17T07:28:53-07:00

My latest on the Computerworld Tool Talk Blog:

In a hurry to get your hands on iPad accessories? Better pre-order them fast. The ship dates are slipping, slipping, slipping into the future, according to reports.

First, the iPad case slipped a little bit from April 3 to mid-April. Now, the iPad Keyboard Dock is seeing bigger delays. It was originally set to ship to customers in mid-April, but now Apple is saying May, according to 9to5mac ("Delays hit iPad accessories, more shortages to come?")

And the iPad Camera Kit, for connecting an SD card or digital camera to your iPad, hasn't even appeared in the Apple online store. That's a problem because the iPad doesn't have USB or other standard interfaces, so you'll need the camera kit to connect to your camera.

Third-party vendors have already started a cottage industry of iPad accessories, as they did for the iPhone and iPod, notes The Unofficial Apple Weblog.

Also, Flash support -- or lack of it -- is making iPad news. Will lack of Flash support be a problem? Many Web videos and games on the Web require Flash to run. On the other hand, sites including the Wall Street Journal and NPR are coming out with Flash-free versions, according to All Things Digital. Virgin America is also coming out with non-Flash versions of its home page, although it will use Flash on inside pages, says AppleInsider.com

Read the rest: Apple iPad accessories delayed, and other Apple news

Twitter's confusing @anywhere announcement: An attempt at an explanation

2010-03-16T07:34:53-07:00

My latest on the Computerworld Tool Talk Blog:

If you don't understand what Twitter's @anywhere announcement Monday was all about, you're not alone. Twitter has not done a very good job of communicating. I've read eight blogs and articles about the announcement. I think I have it figured out, but I couldn't swear to it. Here's what I think @anywhere is.

It seems to be pretty simple, actually: a way to interact with Twitter while using another Web site, says PCWorld, adding:

When users browse a site that implements @anywhere, people and brands with Twitter accounts will appear as hyperlinks. Hovering over the hyperlink will reveal a box with that person or brand's Twitter info and most recent Tweet (clicking on the hyperlink will take you directly to their Twitter profile).

Read the rest Twitter's confusing @anywhere announcement: An attempt at an explanation ALSO: Why does Twitter's @anywhere have to be so cryptic?

Apple's iPad: Should you pre-order?

2010-03-15T08:14:28-07:00

My latest on the Computerworld Tool Talk Blog:

Friday morning, I got up at 6, and staggered off to the kitchen to make breakfast, as I usually do on weekdays. But then I stopped short, a thought attempting to penetrate my sleep-numb brain. The thought was:

The iPad goes on pre-order today.

So I did a 180 and staggered into my home office, where I attempted to work the computer. My brain doesn't operate very well at the early stages of the wake-up process. I got it all figured out -- so many buttons! and bright lights! -- and within a few minutes I'd ordered two iPads, one for myself, and one for my wife, who has deemed that this time around she's not going to accept my hand-me-down gadgets. I ordered a few accessories for each of us. When I was done, the total damage to my credit card was $1,739.78.

I put my head between my legs and breathed shallowly into a paper bag until the dizziness stopped. It's by far the most money I ever spent before breakfast. And I'm self-employed, starting up a new business in the middle of the Great Recession. And--

Hold on a minute. I'm getting dizzy again.

Read the rest: Apple's iPad: Should you pre-order?

ALSO: Which hardware configuration should you buy?

Which accessories should you buy?

Apple iPhone getting multitasking this summer?

2010-03-12T09:59:00-08:00

My latest on the Computerworld Tool Talk blog:

Apple will deliver multitasking to iPhone 4.0 this summer, according to a prominent Apple blog. We've heard that rumor before. On the other hand, it has to be true sometime.

Apple will introduce "a multitasking solution through the handset's 4.0 software update that will finally allow several third-party apps to run concurrently and in the backround," according to the blog AppleInsider ("Apple's iPhone 4.0 software to deliver multitasking support.")

Right now, only Apple's apps multitask in the background. So you can listen to music on the iPod, and Mail continues pulling down messages, even when you're doing other things. But third-party apps can't run in the background, unless you jailbreak your iPhone.

Apple has avoided supporting multitasking on the iPhone, probably because it's risky. Done wrong, it would drain the battery rapidly -- and the iPhone battery is already notoriously scant. Badly done multitasking would slow down the iPhone, as too many open apps compete for computing power. And it would lead to crashes.

But those aren't the only risks. AppleInsider provides a good roundup of the issues. Multitasking would make it easier for malefactors to install malware, hiding viruses, spyware, and other treacherous software as background processes. And multitasking would be particularly hard on games, which require fast, predictable responsiveness, and which have been a strong selling point for the iPhone.

Read the rest: Apple iPhone getting multitasking this summer?

Next on Copper Robot: Gina Trapani

2010-03-12T09:01:10-08:00

Next on Copper Robot, our guest will be Gina Trapani, author of the book The Complete Guide to Google Wave. We'll talk to Gina about Google Wave, and the book, and its unusual publishing model.

But that's not all we'll talk about, because it's not all Gina does. Gina wears a lot of hats. She is a project director at Expert Labs, an initiative to help policy makers use technology to take advantage of the expertise of their fellow citizens. There, Gina is leading development of ThinkTank, an open source crowdsourcing platform for the White House. ThinkTank started as a way to filter and capture useful information out of conversations Gina was having on Twitter, and it's evolved beyond that.

Also, Gina is co-host of This Week In Google, with uber-podcaster Leo Laporte.

Previously, she was founding editor of Lifehacker.com.

I've known Gina a few years, she's wicked smart and wicked nice. And busy too. Join us!

WHEN: Wednesday, March 17, 6 pm Pacific/Second Life Time

WHERE: The lovely Copper Robot Theater, World2Worlds Island in Second Life, or watch the live video on the Web, or listen to the podcast afterward.

United Airlines bans video-chat on its planes because terrorists might use it

2010-03-11T16:55:53-08:00

Boing Boing: Is inflight videochat in the US illegal? United Airlines thinks so

Boing Boing partner John Battelle was on a WiFi-enabled flight last night, and wanted to say bedtime-goodnight to his kids using videochat. Lots of parents tuck their kids into bed over video when they're far from home. What gentler, more loving example of the power of the internet could there be? Nope. A United Airlines flight attendant told John that this was prohibited because terrorists could use this to coordinate attacks.

I hate to think what will happen when United figures out that terrorists need to use the bathroom.

Updated TextExpander makes typing on the Mac even faster

2010-03-11T09:34:17-08:00

My latest on the Computerworld Tool Talk Blog:

TextExpander is one of the most useful tools available for the Mac. It allows you to generate a list of text abbreviations which, when typed, automatically expand into words, phrases, paragraphs or whole pages of text. The upgrade released this week adds significant new capabilities, although some of the new features are still unreliable.

TextExpander runs in the background, and watches your keyboard. To use it, just type.

The best way to describe how TextExpander works is to describe how I use it. When I type the abbreviation "mmw," TextExpander types out my name. I use that as a short e-mail signature. "cwsig" is the signature I use for correspondence relating to this blog. I have a couple of other e-mail signatures I use for various other roles I play, all accessible by typing abbreviations I created and customized with TextExpander.

TextExpander isn't just for e-mail signatures. If I type "hhipaa" it spells out "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)." And "palblogtag" spells out the last paragraph I use on every single blog I post to a particular corporate Web site.

Read the rest: Updated TextExpander makes typing on the Mac even faster

Apple's iPad: Awkward to use in any position? And other questions

2010-03-10T07:43:18-08:00

Seems like the iPad might be awkward to hold no matter how you position it. It'll be too heavy to hold in one hand, you can't operate it if you hold it in two hands, and it will be impractical to use for long periods in your lap.

Will the iPad be too difficult to use in any position? That's one of several questions emerging as iPad availability looms closer.

Will the iPad be hard to use?

Lee Mathews, writing at Download Squad, analyzes the first iPad commercial, which aired Sunday night at the Oscars, and asks, "So why is everyone in the iPad commercial sitting down?"

Everybody in the commercial is sitting, and holding the iPad in their lap, Mathews notes, and speculates that the iPad is hard to use any other way. It's too big and heavy to be held in one hand, he says.

Read the rest of my post on the Computerworld Tool Talk Blog: Apple's iPad: Awkward to use in any position? And other questions

Today's links I posted to Twitter

2010-03-09T18:12:28-08:00

Microsoft researcher wins Turing Award for inventing the Alta computer at Xerox PARC (Computerworld).

Google’s Chief Economist: “Newspapers Have Never Made Much Money From News” (TechCrunch). The chart shows that newspapers were making money nicely in the 80s, while the publishers were screaming poverty and making their staff work for wages so low they nearly qualified for Welfare. What a racket: Convince your employees their work is more than a job, it's a calling. Then protect them from the filthy money their work earns.

Apple To Build 5 Million iPads In First Half 2010, Analyst Says (Barrons.com)

Google Voice returns to iPhone via slick weblication. VoiceCentral "Black Swan" is a browser-based app that competes with Google's own.

Foursquare vs. Twitter vs. Facebook:
- Foursquare Introduces New Tools for Businesses (NY Times)
- Just In Time For The Location Wars, Twitter Turns On Geolocation On Its Website (TechCrunch)
- Facebook Will Allow Users to Share Location (NY Times)

Miso: A Foursquare-Like App for Homebodies, lets you check in watching TV shows, movies (ReadWriteWeb)

Jonathan Lethem’s Fortress of Solitude & Me

2010-03-09T11:14:35-08:00

I have a confession to make: I didn’t finish Fortress of Solitude, Jonathan Lethem’s big, partly autobiographical novel about a nerdy kid growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970s.

I interviewed Lethem a few weeks ago on my Copper Robot podcast, where I talked knowledgeably and affectionately about some of the scenes and backgrounds of Fortress. And that wasn’t a lie, because I kept the discussion to the first 150 pages of the novel. I read that in 2003, when the book came out, and then I stopped. But when I was done with the interview, I picked up the book and started it again, and finished it recently. I’m glad I did. It’s an intense, emotional novel, and well worth reading.

One of the reasons I gave up reading Fortress first time through is that the novel is somewhat disorganized. It slows down and wanders in the middle, seeming to lose its way. But the first and last thirds of the book are gripping. I was also pushed out of the novel by its emotional honesty. It’s sometimes so true it’s painful to read.

Jonathan Lethem is author of Motherless Brooklyn, Chronic City, and Gun With Occasional Music. He is a past winner of the MacArthur Fellowship, the so-called “Genius Grant.”

Fortress of Solitude is the story of the friendship of two boys growing up in Gowanus, Brooklyn, a neighborhood real estate agents would describe as “transitional.” Gowanus is occupied by working-class and poor blacks and Puerto Ricans, within walking distance of some really bad neighborhoods, including a housing project. But landlady Isobel Vendle is trying to convert Gowanus into a gentrified neighborhood, with a new, genteel name: Boerum Hill.

Read the rest of my post on Tor.com: Jonathan Lethem’s Fortress of Solitude & Me

Analytics help marketers adapt their Web sites to customer behavior

2010-03-09T07:18:38-08:00

If the Great Recession has taught marketers anything, it's that measuring what's working—or not working—is essential to wringing value from Web sites and online marketing efforts. Marketers increasingly are relying on Web analytics to help them move beyond simple brand-building to turn Web traffic into relationships, leads and sales.

Some companies are fine-tuning their Web analytics to focus on measuring which activities generate sales leads. They then use the information they gather to make design changes to their Web sites.

Indium Corp., for example, is focused on monitoring how the Web drives sales leads. “I don't get paid on click-through rate or bounce rate,” said Rick Short, director of marketing communications for the supplier of electronics assembly components. “I get paid when people buy something. So I focus on generating bona fide, opt-in leads—period.”

That's not to say that Indium ignores standard Web statistics such as page views, site visits, bounce rates and average time on site. It uses that information to help determine what content on the site is best engaging visitors and driving them to register and contact the company. “I'm a businessman; I'm here to sell,” Short said.

Read the rest of my article at BtoB Magazine: Analytics help marketers adapt their Web sites to customer behavior

Also: Align measurement with visitor goals, business objective

Citrix Systems uses Web analytics to boost business results

Apple's iPad: Is it a computer?

2010-03-09T07:12:09-08:00

It seems obvious that the upcoming Apple iPad is a computer, but many people -- both Apple supporters and haters -- seem to feel passionately that it's not a computer. So what is it?

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a "computer" as "a programmable, usually electronic device, that can store, retrieve, and process data." That certainly matches the description of the iPad, the iPhone, and other smartphones, as well as video game consoles, and programmable Hewlett-Packard pocket calculators that came out in the 1970s.

But some seem to get worked up denying that it's a computer. That's true of both the device's defenders and detractors.

Read the rest on the Computerworld Tool Talk blog: Apple's iPad: Is it a computer?

I shot a man in Reno. Just to watch him die.

2010-03-08T20:11:40-08:00

This afternoon, when I was out exercising, I listened to Fresh Air's 1997 interview of Johnny Cash. I was overcome by the desire to not hear him talk, but hear his music. Then I remembered: Aha. I have it on my iPhone. So I listened to "The Baron," "One Piece at a Time," "Sunday Morning Coming Down," "A Boy Named Sue," "Five Feet High and Rising," "I Still Miss Someone," and "Oh,What a Dream."

The same thing happened to me in August, with a different Cash interview.

I'm not a particularly musical person. I go for months without listening to music on my iPod. I don't play an instrument or sing. But there's something about the Man in Black.

Today's links I posted to Twitter

2010-03-08T18:21:41-08:00

Computerworld review of iZotope, Mac software for cleaning up recordings. I'm looking forward to trying iZotope as an alternative to Audacity for editing Copper Robot podcasts.

Naked girls read science fiction. The only way this could be any more perfect would be if it were "Naked girls read science fiction and serve pizza."

Overview of people making real-life money from Second Life, by the Washington Post. It's a good article, although it's also a puff piece. In particular, it overlooks the way that Linden Lab's lowering the rates for leasing server space undercuts the people who resell that server space. In Second Life lingo, that business is "selling land," and the people who resell the server space are "land barons."

They Made A Toy of That? Misguided Action Figures - mental_floss. The Klinger-in-drag action figure is deeply, deeply wrong.

Having imaginary voices in my head? Is that a bad thing?

2010-03-08T17:33:29-08:00

I got a pitch this afternoon from a PR person wanting me to do a story that I wasn't interested in.

I started to reply in e-mail. I struggled to articulate the reasons why I wasn't interested. Then, I imagined the PR person coming up with responses.

Eventually, the imaginary PR person in my head convinced me to do the story.

Apple's iPad: Will there be shortages, and other questions

2010-03-08T07:34:50-08:00

Apple's iPad goes on sale April 3, but that doesn't mean you'll be able to get one then. If the past is any guide, Apple stores could sell out early on. Will they? That's one of several intriguing questions still remaining about the iPad.

Will there be shortages?

Maybe, says my colleague Gregg Keizer: "Apple's iPad: Will It Sell?" Prior to Apple announcing an April 3 availability date for the iPad on Friday, Peter Misek, an analyst with Canaccord Adams said production problems would limit the number of units available at launch to 300,000.

Wall Street analyst Brian Marshall of BroadPoint AmTech said the iPad will "definitely" sell out in hours.

The company had trouble keeping up with demand for both the iPhone 3G in 2008, and the 3GS last year. It took Apple about six weeks to fully stock its stores with the iPhone 3G.

Read the rest at the Computerworld Tool Talk Blog: Apple's iPad: Will there be shortages, and other questions

Today's links I posted to Twitter

2010-03-07T19:39:32-08:00

Why ad blocking is devastating to the sites you love - Ars Technica, via Daring Fireball.

The "Trade of Queens," last volume in Charles Stross's "Merchant Families" series, comes out this month. W00t!

Apple iPad will fly off the shelves - Computerworld

My current iPhone home screen. @kottke's idea.

The New York Times Introduces a Web Site - 1996 announcement on the New York Times' site. Via @DavidJoachim

A perfectly framed assassination in Dubai - WSJ.com: Stepped-up surveillance technology may be tipping the scales in the cat-and-mouse game between spies and their targets. Robert Baer on the current state of spycraft.

I want a machine to take care of all my body maintenance

2010-03-07T13:54:45-08:00

It'll work while I sleep, and exercise my body, while pooping, washing, brushing teeth, and inputting meds and fiber. Where can I get one of those?

Apple announces iPad availability: April 3

2010-03-05T07:51:26-08:00

Apple announced this morning that the iPad will be available in the US Saturday, April 3 for Wi-Fi models and late April for Wi-Fi + 3G models.

April 3! That's almost a month away! You're killing me, Apple!

Read the rest on the Computerworld Tool Talk Blog: Apple announces iPad availability: April 3