Apple's iPad

Apple Computer, known for leading the technological world in innovation, announced their newest product yesterday: the iPad. It failed to meet my expectations. The iPad doesn't introduce any new technology or ideas, which is not usual for an Apple product. As far as I can tell, it has no functionality beyond that of an iPod touch. Perhaps Apple thought that making it large enough that you could no longer carry it in your pocket would be appealing. I was especially disappointed to hear that Steve Jobs views netbooks as cheap, slow laptops. Jobs' comment reveals a skewed perspective that his company's products deserve to be purchased because they are expensive. But what if the product's features do not match the high price tag? The iPad actually runs slower than most netbooks. Not only that, but it is incapable of running a full operating system. Instead, the iPad uses an operating system that Apple designed to run a phone. The result is a product that doesn't even deserve to be called a computer and is certainly incapable of competing with the supposedly inferior netbooks. Don't be fooled by the clever marketing. Apple doesn't deserve your money for this one.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8483654.stm

The Social Life of a Computer Scientist

Social pressures steer women away from technological fields. Despite what stereotypes may dictate, nerds are not antisocial. If you don't believe me, try putting two of them together and make a comment like, "I just upgraded my RAM to 64 gigabytes!" I'm not sure how this works, but that statement will unleash a flood of computer conversation that has enough nerdiness to send an entire football team running for cover. Nerds thrive in the presence of other nerds. What does this have to do with women? Women don't have conversations like this! There is no niche in the social market for women who enjoy discussing the processing power of their computers with each other. Because such personalities only emerge in the presence of other like-minded people, the technology nerd has not manifest itself in the female. Thus, women who have the interest and talent necessary to thrive in a technological field find themselves faced with a dilemma: are they willing to put up with a lifetime of social interaction with nerds? The answer is often no. The solution is for engineers and computer scientists to shake the nerd stereotypes. If the technology industry had the reputation of being filled with people who are socially capable and interesting to talk to in more aspects of life than just computers and technology (yes, there are other aspects of life), then women would line up to get their degrees. So stop reading this blog! Go call up a nice girl and take her out to dinner. Most importantly, stop thinking about computers and start thinking about people.

Twitterpated

I have never used twitter and I don't plan to. After reading an article (see link below) on the subject of twitter addiction, I'm even more firmly resolved. The initial idea of writing short snippets about daily activities sounds a lot like a journal, which is usually meant to be read only by the writer. Twitter opens such daily snippets up for the whole world to read. Who would want to read daily updates of the minor, boring details of someone else's life? If you're reading about someone you really care about, why not talk to them in person? It seems especially sad to be the one reading daily updates on the life of someone who spends all day on the computer writing tweets. Personally, I never want to contribute to such a mindless substitute for actually living life and interacting with real people.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8459311.stm

Technology makes us stupid

People are stupider today than they have ever been. In a matter of seconds, I can access more resources on any subject than I could possibly find time to read. You would think that with such a widely-available supply of information, stupidity would be near extinction. And yet, I submit that the ease of communication today is in fact a catalyst for stupidity. Precious kernels of knowledge that took the most brilliant minds generations to acquire are being placed in the hands of people who never learned how to add 2+2. We take knowledge for granted. As technological advances make information more easily available, they steal from us the wisdom that can be gained in the acquisition. There is something important about struggling to find an answer. It brings experience and understanding that cannot be gained from having the answer delivered on a silver platter. So the next time you are trying to find the answer to something, try using brainpower instead of processor power.