Opposing points of view

A couple of geeks (one that actually codes) with very different points of view:

Chris Pirillo

"When you believe you can compensate for a lack of skill by doubling your efforts, there's no end to what you can't do."

Jeff Atwood

talent is far less important than enthusiasm (Jeff's blog post on the subject)

So which is correct?
I suspect some of both. I've certainly seen the enthusiasm approach succeed in all kinds of areas - many of which have nothing to do with computers (the RMC recruit obstacle course comes to mind). On the other hand, I've also seen enthusiasm run into roadblocks that only new skills can overcome. Notice I did not say improved skills? That's because I've seen enthusiasm produce improvements. I've seen tasks (now I'm thinking of in the classroom) tackled where the participants definitely did not have the level of skills needed when they started. Enthusiasm gives them the courage to jump in and improve the skills they have - to the point where they succeed. They do not lose these skills after and can continue to use them for new challenges as they arrive. They do need some base level though (I don't think Jeff was really advocating that no skill can be overcome

In fact I think that is part of teaching - engendering the enthusiasm so that the students can learn on their own ...

Story of Stuff

This video (click picture for video) is a little over the top (for example implying that every use of flame retardants is evil) - but includes some real important points too. The big point is that we (it's American, but I'm including all of the "western world") consume too much instead of simply using items longer. Currently we cannot survive economically without growth. Many items are manufactured to fail (planned obsolescence) while many others are designed for us to simply "think" that something needs replacing (perceived obsolescence). Fact (I didn't check up on it): 99% of materials trashed within 6 months!

It's long been my opinion that the Western World's premise for economy cannot continue. Here in Canada we like to trumpet some of our social programs (IMO deservedly). However, most of those programs (like social security/old age pensions) cannot continue to be funded at current rates without continuous population growth. In fact, the Canadian birth rate isn't high enough to ensure this so we require immigration to support this. I am in no way against immigration, but I am saddened that this would be a reason for it. Many other things in our society also require the continuous growth. Watch the business news (occasionally - it's too boring to watch every day :-) and you will see stories of companies that are perceived to be worth less, simply because they failed "grow." They may have made excellent profits while offering useful products but since they only sold the same number as last year (last quarter, last month, last whatever) they aren't considered any good anymore. This is a clear example of how we force products into obsolescence. Obviously these companies MUST create a throw away product, just so investors want to own them.

The requirement for growth is much more widespread than many realize. My own employer is currently in a deficit position. The solution to that deficit is growth. With more customers, profit margins will increase and we can balance our budget. While I am aiming criticism here, it isn't at my employer per se. It doesn't have much choice in the current funding climate. It too is being forced into this situation by the overall strategies of government and economy.

How do we change this. Sadly I feel like most attempts are typical "tilting at windmills" examples of futility. Certainly supporting sustainable development is part of this. Simple things like recycling and re-use are very important but currently it is cheaper to throw away and get new stuff. Somehow it needs to become more expensive to replace with new. That statement smacks of government intervention which is something I dislike. An example that seems to work is the deposit on beer bottles (Ontario has a 95%-99% rate of return on beer bottles). I don't think that is extendable to every product we use though (what would the deposit on a car or house be?). My sadness comes from the thought that we will need some sort of crash (resource crash) to turn things around. Have you ever read "The Sheep Look Up"? A very scary book. Recently we have seen a large increase in interest in renewable energies and efficient vehicles. How come? In a large part because oil got expensive. Not because of some altruistic reasoning by the population. :-(

(Link to The Sheep Look Up search)

Physics Game

I like physics. I like games. 'Nuff said.

Online Physics Games

What is Unite for?

You've either already heard about Unite, or you will soon. This is a new product from Opera - the company that makes a supposedly really good browser, that I've never bothered to try. "Aye, there's the rub." A lot of people are used to seeing Opera in that context - just another web browser that they don't feel compelled to even try. That might be the first nail in the coffin for their new product Unite.

So what is Unite? Well basically it is a point and click web server for home use. Without going into technical details it allows you to easily put your own website on the Internet, without putting your content under someone else's control. It has drag and drop widgets for file sharing, a media site (think Internet radio with your music), photo-sharing (like flickr), a chat server, a message wall, and some others. If people like/use it I would expect many other widgets to come soon - the glaringly obvious one being video sharing (like YouTUBE).

Perhaps the biggest difference though is that since the content is on your own computer you do not have to agree to the terms of service of another site, nor give up your ownership of your files (that caused a huge backlash on FaceBook) and you can remove data when you want to. You also have control over who sees (or doesn't see) your content (if you care about this then do it carefully though).

Caveat: this is your own computer doing the serving, over your own Internet connection. If your connection isn't fast enough (upload speed, not download speed) then people won't be able to get your content fast enough. You may have limits on your total upload amounts, on top of speed issues.

So what could/will people use Unite for?

• replacing social networking software. Instead of hosting your status and your pictures (and other stuff) on FaceBook or MySpace or [insert huge list of social networking sites] host it where it already is - on your own computer. If you put up links to other people using Unite that are your friends you now have the "networking" part. P2P (peer-to-peer) social networking!
  
• replacing sharing services like flickr and YouTUBE - impose your own limits, no "pro" account required. No need to spend time uploading pictures/videos - it is already where you want to share it from
• having a personal radio station that only plays music you like (own)
• keeping in touch with people (like the social networking sites already listed)

Will people use it? I have no idea. It has a lot of potential, but like I said at the beginning many people are going to think of anything with the word Opera as just another web browser (or maybe a fat lady singing Wagner). The fact that you have to install Opera on the computer that is running Unite probably works against it. Note: people accessing the site can use any web browser.

Can people use it? On the technical side that will depend on their ISP (most will allow some use). On the useability side it doesn't look like most people will have much trouble getting it to work, although setting access/security might be a little more effort for some people.

What's missing? There should be a video sharing widget, and a friends widget. I'm also suprised there is no blog widget.

What do you think it might get used for? What do you think is missing? Have you actually tried it yet?

Another UI update

How about just using your cell phone to write notes in the air. Demo does not show this being used to interact with a computer - but why not. Especially if the phone and the computer are both Bluetooth.

Webpage for above video: http://synrg.ee.duke.edu/media.htm