Here is a short highlight video of the interview with the Palm guys about the Pre which took place at D7 today. Enjoy:
POC Blog
The random technotheolosophical blogging of Reid S. Monaghan
On Terminators - Why we fear our Robots...
There is a literal avalanche of literature and film treating the subject of robots, robot wars and the rise of the machines. There are technologists, philosophers and futurists who love to talk about our “mind children” and how we will evolve into our own creations. The most recent Terminator installment seems to carry on this long tradition of wondering just when our toasters will tire of their carbon based masters and rise up against us. The Cylons chasing the Battlestar, the machines plugging us into the Matrix and the machines chasing around Sarah and John Connor all reveal something quite insightful about our relationship to machines. We are afraid. Why is this?
We present ourselves in modern technological society as intelligent world shapers who through our technology will solve problems…even save the world. If we let Science run free and unhindered by luddite concerns or ancient ethical systems, we’ll create wonders with our ingenuity. Yet we are still afraid. Futuristic technology has its optimists and pessimists for sure. For examples, one only has to look as far as Ray Kurzweil’s wonderful immortality or Bill Joy’s fear of the gray goo.
Apparently, a philosopher right here at Rutgers University, has been musing about whether robot warriors (aka terminators) will be our salvation. H+ magazine recently interviewed said philosopher about the promises of robot based warfare, which is very much a reality today in some sense. The interview is quite interesting in that it discusses how robots might make the military more moral in its warfare. One particularly interesting section is commentary on the work of Georgia Tech’s Ron Arkin in making super-moral, or more moral robot soldiers:
Robots might be better at distinguishing civilians from combatants; or at choosing targets with lower risk of collateral damage, or understanding the implications of their actions. Or they might even be programmed with cultural or linguistic knowledge that is impractical to train every human soldier to understand.
Ron Arkin thinks we can design machines like this. He also thinks that because robots can be programmed to be more inclined to self-sacrifice, they will also be able to avoid making overly hasty decisions without enough information. Ron also designed architecture for robots to override their orders when they see them as being in conflict with humanitarian laws or the rules of engagement. I think this is possible in principle, but only if we really invest time and effort into ensuring that robots really do act this way. So the question is how to get the military to do this.
So here is a scenario where our terminators could be programmed to “turn on us” if they don’t think the people are acting according to “humanitarian laws” (whatever those are and whatever side defines them). Interesting enough the famous laws of Robotics created by Issac Asimov read as follows:
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Many of you may remember that these laws were the subject of the film, iRobot (the book also contains the laws, but the film does not represent the book). The movie gives an interesting view on machine consciousness and how the three laws just might lead the robots to take over…for our own good of course. Mechanized warfare is here and here to stay. There will be robot warriors of some form or another, but the moment we think they can improve on human beings is the moment we forget that we are their creators. As such, we are afraid - for bad gods we will make.
Mankind once feared its capricious pantheon of gods, now we fear ourselves and the work of our own hands. We fear someday that they will be like us and rise up against us like our ancestor Cain. We know our sins will follow us into them and even John Conner may be unable to save us.
Is this inevitable, no. Is the pride of man such that we will likely create technologies which will continue to bring carnage and destruction on the earth - yes, very likely. Humanity has been telling itself that it needs to shake free of sophomoric ideas of sin and depravity, yet they remain in us. Checks and balances are needed because humanity is wicked. I am by no means a Luddite, but I do think we should give more care to that which we create.
We are not gods and we know it, so we remain afraid.
Why do you use...a PC?
OK, now it is time for all of you who use PCs to come out courageously and stand with courage among your sneering Mac friends. They are not better than you, there are good reasons for using Windows. List them here:
Why are you willing to say “I’m a PC”
Humour is allowed as are practical considerations…
Why do you use...a Macintosh?
This will be the first of several “Why do you use…” posts to hear from you guys as to why you use certain technologies and products. Here I want thoughtful reasons and pithy remarks - one without the other will not do. Not just wise cracks, I really want to know real reasons…but make it fun.
I figured I would start off with one that I know some folk may want to weigh in on:
Why do you use a Mac? (note: the question is not “why do PCs suck”)
Drop your love in the comments…
A History of the POCBlog (and How to kill your site on Google)
The Story of the POCBlog
Over the years little Power of Change has grown up a bit. It began as a personal, hand coded site in 1996 where I would put newsletters for our ministry partners when Kasey and I worked with Athletes in Action. I was a recent graduate in Applied Computer Science and liked programming. Believe or not, the web was still new for many people and I wanted to learn the ins and out of HTML. The went through several redesigns but remained primarily a site for friends, supporters and a place to distribute resources to others in ministry.
In 2004, I began simple blog with the free service “Blogger” and I soon found that blogging suited me pretty well. Later on, I merged the Power of Change web site and the POCBlog and two became one. In 2006 I moved to the Movable Type bloggin platform with a re-design done by Mr. Tim Challies with some headers by my good friend Weylon Smith and the blog actually looked good and had some decent functionality for me.
Here are some pics from the Internet Archive for Power of Change.
2005 Blogger Blog
2006 - MovableType 3.2 Site
Finally, this last week I did something rash - I did an unplanned redesign. It had been three years with the old look and I had been wanting to try out Squarespace as I was hearing quite a buzz about the service. Designing a web site takes one of two things - money or time (along with a little know how). I was going to pay someone to do the redesign but I decided to give it a shot on my own with Squarespace. Being a church planter and money still not growing on trees, I also decided to host my doman’s email with Google Apps Standard Edition. Anyway, the redesign went really well and I finally got all my powerofchange email over to Gmail. Yet today, I realized I did not think it through well enough…and I probably killed myself with Google Search.
How to kill yourself on Google
Most people know that the net runs on Google - if you want your site to be read and people to find you, Google is the best place to be known. You can Yahoo or Live Search all you like, but Google is the place you want to be found. I realized this morning, through a fun little conversation, that I probably just shot the POC Blog in the foot…in terms of Googleability. A friend of ours, not a previous reader of the POCBlog, told me this morning that she was googling to find the name of the kinds story book Bible that was endorsed by Tim Keller. She was so excited to tell me she found my review at the very top of her Google search and didn’t even know she was on my site until reading the review. She asked me how that happened, how did my review got to the top of Google. Then I thought for a second, uh oh…all my old site links are likely nuked now that I moved to Squarespace and the new POCBlog design.
You see, your site and pages rise in Google’s algorithm as people read and link to various content on your site. All the links that were well read on the POC Blog, now no longer exist (at least the precise URLs) in the new site. The content is all here still, but Google can no longer see it. So, thankfully, the POCBlog is a hobby to me and not my livelihood. I have never placed an ad on the site and have wanted to keep financial concerns away from my writing.
Yet to show love to other bloggers, a few tips to keep your site pumping in transition.
- Keep your readers informed of your site’s coming changes. Give at least a week’s notice on your current site that a new site is coming. If your RSS feed URL is going to change, let people know this and post the new feed before shutting down the old site. Give time for transition. I gave mine a couple of hours - dumb.
- If possible, keep the blog archive links the same as previous links. This is possible but requires some planning in setting up your new blog software. This is most easily done if going from Blogger Site to Blogger Site, Wordpress to Wordpress, MT to MT etc. I didn’t do this - I imported every entry from the old POCBlog, but the links got structured differently with the Squarespace system. Any site that linked to something you wrote in the past will now be a dead link and will its popularity within Google will be lost. For instance, the ESV Bible Study endorsements page pulled something from the POC Blog and linked to it - that page has a new URL on the new site so that link from the ESV page is “gone.”
Overall, I blog, play with technology and babble about things technotheolosophical because it is fun and it keeps me dialed in with many friends. Hopefully it is of some value to God’s world and Kingdom…after all, here comes a post on “theosis” - oh joy.
Why Tweet...just Flutter
Why Twitter when you can Flutter...next up is "Gaze" - where you type no characters and just stare like a zombie at blank computer screens with friends faces flowing by...The future is coming - and we are all idiots.
Pre-views continue for Pre...
At the international wireless conference CTIA in Palm was demoing several new pre-view videos of the highly awaited Palm Pre. There are several new videos up now and a new "Weekend" promo that plays first below.
#1 - This Weekend Promo
#2 - Fandango and Sprint TV demoed
#3 - Sprint GPS turn by turn directions app
#4 - Music and Multimedia Demo
MacBook Screen Problems
It seems my screen/VPU problems are visiting others in the computing world as well. This time the MacBook Pro (the one where you can't replace the battery yourself) is having screen crazies. Article over at MacRumors for those who have this saucy aluminum bodied MacBook Pro. Solution is being offered...
It seems packing all these thin, light, high horsepower components close together brings heat issues that can be very finicky. I am sending my Dell off tomorrow to the doctor to be fixed and switching to a new Inspiron 15 for two weeks. Hopefully no more Dell screen hell is before me - this really took a bunch of time to deal with this week.
Palm Pre, Jimmy Fallon and Engadger High Fives
There is a great segment up from the Jimmy Fallon show featuring Engadget editor Josh Topolsky and a short demo of the Palm Pre. To watch these two contemporary human beings negotiate a high five was classic. Guys, it ain't supposed to be that hard, but we appreciate the laughs.
Full coverage at EngadgetFree ESV Study Bible Online Access
The ESV Study Bible online companion site is giving FREE accounts out during the month of March. The online site is a companion to that wonderfully chubby study Bible from Crossway. Highly recommended for students of the Bible and those who find an easy home online.
Here is the link - http://www.esvstudybible.org/online
Revealing Comedy...
Comedian Louis C.K. had some insightful things to say about the spirit of our age on late night with Conan O'Brien.
(HT - Don't Eat that Fruit
Palm Pre - Feature Hub...
Engadget has launched a new feature on their site called...er, feature hub. Anyway, it is sort of a mega page dedicated to certain tech supernovae. One of the first out is a "hub" dedicated to the coming Palm Pre. A great place to start for history and latest news on the Pre.
My next phone?
I sure hope they don't price this ridiculously high...
Larger version available on Palm's site here
The Utopian Vision of Wikipedia Interrupted by Sin
Wikipedia is a wonderful online repository of information. For the most part, on subjects which are without much controversy, Wikipedia provides timely and helpful information on a plethora of subjects. The idea behind the site was to create a user editable resource which could offer a vast array of knowledge that is updated regularly. Over time the information would be refined by those who were passionate about a certain subject and areas of their expertise.
It places a strong emphasis that the crowd will eventually get it right and a vast resources is made available on the world wide web. I love the idea and it is a work of idealism which I really respect. The thought of a group of kind human beings working together for the common good and offering their knowledge to the world gives one warm fuzzies for sure. Wikipedia has often found its critics. Some say that only experts in a field should weigh in on such fields. Others have had concern that such a vast resource would sphaghetti out of control when very little control is exercised. Yet the effort seems worth the time to correct the mistakes and work towards refining the information.
There is one problem that I believe the Wiki Foundation has underestimated. Human Sin. It is no surprise there is terminology in wiki-world which reflects that we are not all prone to good natured editing of information for edifying our fellow human beings. The most common problem on wiki's is Vandalism. This sort of thing is a problem where pages can be filled with slander, lies, false information and propaganda. How deep the problem affects wikipedia is subject to debate, but sometimes the misinformation can be quite harmful or disturbing.
The New York Times bits blog is reporting the following this week:
Stung by criticism after vandals changed Wikipedia entries to erroneously report that Senators Edward Kennedy and Robert Byrd had died, Wikipedia appears ready to introduce a system that prevents new and anonymous users from instantly publishing changes to the online encyclopedia.
The new system, called Flagged Revisions, would mark a significant change in the anything-goes, anyone-can-edit-at-any-time ethos of Wikipedia, which in eight years of existence has become one of the top 10 sites on the Web and the de facto information source for the Internet-using public.
The idea in a nutshell is that only registered, reliable users would have the right to have their material immediately appear to the general public visiting Wikipedia. Other contributors would be able to edit articles, but their changes will be held back until one of these reliable users has signed off, or “flagged” the revisions. (Registered, reliable users would see the latest edit to an article, whether flagged or not.)
So the original vision of Wikipedia is slowly being modified and eroded over time. By what you may ask? Human nature. People are sinners who are prone to do jacked up stuff to people's visions of Utopia. I would be nice if everyone was courteous online, if everyone wanted to the common good, if everyone saw humanity as joint progress narrative where we all buy the world a coke and teach it to sing in perfect harmony. This is not our world, this is not what human beings are. A segment of Steve Turner's poem Creed comes to mind:
We believe that man is essentially good.
It's only his behaviour that lets him down.
This is the fault of society.
Society is the fault of conditions.
Conditions are the fault of society.
Wikipedia only works as a completely free site if people were not sinners. So because of sin we need editors, we need flagging and we need God's grace. For wiki vandalism is but a small problem in our chaotic world. Wikipedia needs saviors now, it needs some responsible editors to rescue it. All things involving humans are in need of such redemption - for we ourselves are our problem. Some admit it (repentance) some do not (pride). Scripture comes to mind:
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus...Romans 3:21-24.
Here is the link to the piece on the Bits Blog - interesting to see how this is all playing out. It seems a small group of idealists is holding on while the realists are calling for more control. Go weigh in and influence the decision in either direction you please - hey, it is wikipedia after all.
Why Logos Rocks
Here is a link on the Logos Blog
President Digital
President Elect Barak Obama will be a man of many "firsts" - Apparently he is the first president to have his official photo taken with a digital camera. Whether you are a worshiper, admirer or detractor...you can see the new pic at the link below.
Palm Pre Roundup
Engadget has a great summary of all the coverage of the new Palm Pre over at their site. For your convinience I have brought all the links to you here as well. Also, Palm has now placed a QuickTime version of its CES Press Conference on its web site here.
Engadget Coverage of the Palm Pre
The liveblog
Live from Palm's CES press conference
Impressions / hands-on coverage
Palm Pre first hands-on with live updates!
Palm Pre in-depth impressions, video, and huge hands-on gallery
Palm Pre interface tour
Product announcements
The Palm Pre
Palm announces webOS platform
Palm Pre's wireless charger, the Touchstone
In depth / details
There will be a GSM-friendly 3G Palm Pre
Palm stock on a rocket to recovery
Palm's Pre gets its own spot on Sprint's website
Palm Pre website now live with official images, video
Palm's the master of its own domain, the king of its own Castle
Palm's Pre boxed
Palm Pre ads appear on Engadget
Palm Rising...
For those out there who were wondering...it seems like Palm has done something very cool once again in introducing the Palm pre. I have been holding out from becoming a "iClone" on so many fronts so this looks reaaaaly nice. Sweet intro video available on the Palm Pre web site.
Engadget is Live Blogging the Palm CES event...Gizmodo has a descritpion and pics up too...it looks as if old school Palm users are going to be stoked. Word is that it will be out on the Sprint network in the first half of 2009. You can sign up for a release notification from Sprint today - I did. Let us just hope it isn't priced ridiculously high...
Now I need to get back to work on more important things. This new Palm phone looks tres cool...but it ain't eternal.
A few pics:
Palm fans...holding on to hope
Many of us have been using devices from Palm Inc for some time. Personally, I have owned many Palms, some Handsprings and most recently a cheaply priced Centro. Palm is known today as almost an also ran that did not keep up in the smartphone race where Apple, Blackberry and recently Google Android seem to be racing forward. Yet Palm was the pioneer and is still in the game though its market share is shrinking.
Modern Marvels, a delightful history channel staple, recently featured Palm in a show called RetroTech. A video segment is below:
The new Palm OS, code named NOVA, is on its way to be rolled out after the first of the year at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Whether this will be Palm's phoenix moment or whether it joins the world of dead zombie tech that did not survive the market...only time will tell. Personally, I am pulling for Palm. Its new Treo Pro running Windows Mobile and the new NOVA platform may be steps in the right direction. The palm faithful may yet rise again.
Chrome is Cool
OK, I should be getting some sleep but I have been wired all day and thinking too much about well...too many things. Anyway, I wanted to let you guys know that Google's new web browser, Chrome...is pretty cool.
It is still beta software (meaning it is a work in progress...but you know Google calls everything beta just so you won't think it sucks if something doesn't work right) so there are some kinks. I have had a few tiny hiccups running Facebook and its inline spell checker won't work in my Movable Type Blog entry interface (a HUGE deal for me). Anyway, if you have not checked it out hop on over to this link http://www.google.com/chrome. There are some cool short vids and even a comic book (yes, really) explaining the features of the new platform.
Just so you know - this is Google's OS play - they want to control the space that applications run in on your browser. It is an end around both OS X and Windows (or Ubuntu if you like) so developers can write software for the browser and not a certain OS API. Kind of cool...but to be honest I like things that have a client and cloud computing combination...perhaps if Google can actually get Gears to work well it will be an interesting platform. Yet for now I like it that I can get all my stuff to interoperate - I connectc to Exchange with Outlook, sync automatically to Google Calendar where I can see my stuff and our family's stuff overlaid with each other...and can access it all from my Palm Centro.
In the evolving computer world this is an interesting play...whether they will take browser share from Internet Explorer or canibalize the market share gains garnered by FireFox is yet to be seen. I will say that most people who are tech saavy have moved to the Fox...so it seems to me it isn't grandma who will switch or consider switching to Chrome - but FireFox users like me...if they can get spell check to work in ALL web forms. Those special nerds who use WebKit will enjoy Chrome - it is based on that rendering engine.
Enjoy...