I'm very skeptical of these kinds of devices. For example, how many people really want stock quotes on their watches? Is there real value in that? How is a stock ticker on a watch significantly better than a stock ticker on a PDA or cell phone? Also, beyond the cool factor, how important is atomic time to Joe Sixpack? Let's face it, if it isn't significantly better, then only technogeeks will care about it. It'll die a quick death. But wait, there's more. The other factor is this. Even if the product is significantly better in terms of functionality, if the usability sucks then uptake of the product in the market could be minimal. IMHO there are many strikes against these products becoming mainstream products any time soon.
1. More on usability: webword.com (Disclaimer: This is one of my web sites.)
As Clay Shirky writes, users hate micropayments: The Case Against Micropayments. Think about how much work they are for readers, content owners, content creators, businesses, administrators, developers, and others. Micropayments suck because they are not usable for anyone and they don't offer much economic benefit unless you have truly high traffic. Of course, if you have high traffic, you probably aren't a small player.
In effect, you have a situation where small web sites and businesses can't charge (e.g., blogs), medium sized businesses can sometimes charge for unique content (e.g., Consumer Reports and Fark can charge for premium subscriptions), and large organizations can charge if they aggregate content or offer unique content (e.g., Wall Street Journal). In the end, the vast majority won't be able to charge (most content is crap and not unique) but a few large organizations will be able to charge. Those at the top of the heap will make money, the rest will run around like rats looking for sloppy droppings. End of story.
"goombah99 writes "Axis Computer has announced a single chip Linux based computer that integrates 2MB Flash, 8MB SDRAM and an Ethernet transceiver into a single chip with a 27mm x 27mm footprint. 'Just add power to the chip and you have a Linux computer with network connection.' It runs the Linux 2.4 kernel without any patches. The announcement says the chip is 'available' but the tech specs are labeled as preliminary, and the order form on the web site is broken, so it's hard to confirm if it is out yet or not. Some specifications in html and pdf are available at the company's web site."
What most non-Slashdot folks see...
"yak yak yak writes "Computer blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah computer blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. The announcement says the blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah order form on the web site is broken, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah company's web site."
I am not a programmer. However, I work with several programmers, engineers and designers. We have discussions about work all of the time. A couple of years ago programming and engineering seemed like great careers. However, with global competition (e.g., China and India) my colleagues are under a lot of pressure. You can cut the stress with a knife. Here are some of my thoughts on this.
1. These people enjoy stress. They spend so much time at work, it is insane. Yet, at the same time, this type of stress is different. It is inter-work stress, not intra-work stress. That is, it isn't stress related to solving interesting and complex problems. They are having a hard time dealing with it.
2. The impact of offshore competition is really starting to gain ground in most companies. Small companies, large companies, high technolohy companies, low technology companies. Especially if you are in IT, this is no joke. The global economy has arrived. Many workers never thought it would hit them, but it has. This means adjustments in salary expectations, job prospects, networking with others, and more.
3. In my opinion, most development companies outside of the U.S. don't realize the economic and social impact they are having on U.S. workers. They are relatively ignorant of how they are extracting money and jobs from U.S. workers. This isn't a complaint against these companies. It is merely an observation. (I'm curious what others have to say about this, especially developers from India, Eastern Europe, and other such places.)
4. The main competitive advantage for U.S. workers is their "sfot skills" in areas such as business analysis, communication, creativity and project leadership. A friend of mine recently interviewed with a company. They were entirely uninterested in his Java, Lotus / Domino, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, etc. skills, but they were very interested in his ability to communicate, his analysis skills, his writing skills, and so forth. In other words, they cared that he had a clue about how people actually work, versus just being a code monkey.
5. Most technical workers I know don't enjoy technology. Instead, they enjoy the challenge of technology: creativity, problem solving, analysis, puzzles, etc. Therefore, leaving technology wouldn't be such a big deal for most folks I know. One guy wants to be an English professor, another guy wants to drive a truck, still another guy wants to build houses. This is amazing to me because these guys are diesel. I mean, they are seriously good with technology and it would be a shame to see them go.
Probably the biggest problem in medicine today is lack of sleep of interns, nurses, and doctors. No joke. So many of these people lack sleep and it is killing us all.
"I'm intrigued that their company name so bluntly builds off of Apple and Asimov symbols, and the prospect that a product with such a chummy name will doubtless soon be sporting lethal force..."
This doesn't surpise me at all. If this happened in 1999, it would be "eRobot" or "Robot.com" instead. The marketing drones just go with what is hot. They just throw around buzz.
This is news? Microsoft is constantly battling people in court! This is Just Another Lawsuit, folks. By the way, if you are interested, take a look at Computerworld's excellent coverage of Microsoft's legal battles:
1 sesame-seed hamburger bun Half of an additional hamburger bun 1/4 pound ground beef Dash salt 1 tablespoon Kraft Thousand Island dressing 1 teaspoon finely diced onion 1/2 cup chopped lettuce
1 slice American cheese 2 to 3 dill pickle slices
INSTRUCTIONS
1. With a serrated knife, cut the top off the extra bun half, leaving about a 3/4-inch-thick slice. This will be the middle bun in your sandwich.
2. Place the three bun halves on a hot pan or griddle, face down, and toast them to a light brown. Set aside, but keep the pan hot.
3. Divide the ground beef in half and press into two thin patties slightly larger than the bun.
4. Cook the patties in the hot pan over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Salt lightly.
5. Build the burger in the following stacking order from the bottom up:
bottom bun half of dressing half of onion half of lettuce American cheese beef patty middle bun remainder of dressing remainder of onion remainder of lettuce pickle slices beef patty top bun
This is yet another device created by geeks for geeks. These researchers probably think this is a good idea, but do they really think it is a good idea for most people? How much market analysis was done? How much usability testing? Well, at least they are targeting corporations and large organizations. There might be some money in it down the road.
"On the rare occasions when astronomers have coaxed even sparse data from Pioneer 10 in recent years, they have used the readings to investigate everything from cosmic rays to chaos theory to gravitational mechanics."
Are we getting accurate data? Do we know that the data coming back is reliable? Should we trust Pioneer 10 and the data that it is sending us? Note: I'm glad it is still operating. That really is a feat. But, we should temper our enthusiam with a heatlhy dose of skepticism.
"While the RIAA does not collect information on the specific costs that make up the price of a CD, there are many factors that go into the overall cost of a CD -- and the plastic it's pressed on, is among the least significant."
They admit they don't really know the costs. They don't have the data so they speak from ignorance. Or, they do have the data but don't want to admit what they know.
I disagree. People might have heard the acronymn "RIAA" but I bet they don't really understand who they are and what they do. Just because people know it doesn't mean that they know.
I strongly disagree; this is definitely on topic. There has been little attention paid to other business models for sharing music. Read through the rest of the postings and you will see that people are asking how they can get hard-to-find music. They are talking about sharing music with other people. They are talking about music sharing communities. Trodo allows for exactly this kind of activity so posting information about it is a good idea.
We just launched a web site that is sort of like a free eBay or maybe something like an offline Napster: Trodo.com. What is Trodo? "Trodo is a place to trade stuff. It is a friendly barter system. It is a bazaar. It is place to swap stuff. It is a place to share. It is a place to meet people who have stuff you want. It is a place to find out-of-date and hard to find stuff. It is a place to give people stuff you don't want, and to get stuff they don't want." This is a legal, (currently) free, and easy way to exhcange stuff with other people, like CDs and books. After you pay for something and use it, trade it away and get something in return. As I said, we literally just launched. What do you think?
Excellent question. I had the same thought. The NPR piece actually touched on this topic in a few ways. For example, some guy could walk around in an area that is contaminated and then walk into another area "polluting" the new area that was not previously contaminated. And, as you mention, I wonder about the natually occuring sources. Detection should not necessarily determine causation.
This doesn't surpise me at all. On National Public Radio today (All Things Considered) a researcher was talking about the best research tool for tracking down weapons of mass destruction: a 4" x 4" cotton swab. They run the swab over almost any surface and can detect radioactive material to the level of 1 part per billion. Geeez. -- Trade it on Trodo! http://trodo.com
What is the relationship between usability and accessibility? Does improving accessibility improve usability, and if so, why? Is one more important than the other? Can you name some web sites that are easy to use, and accessible so we have some examples to follow?
Slashdot Mirror
I'm very skeptical of these kinds of devices. For example, how many people really want stock quotes on their watches? Is there real value in that? How is a stock ticker on a watch significantly better than a stock ticker on a PDA or cell phone? Also, beyond the cool factor, how important is atomic time to Joe Sixpack? Let's face it, if it isn't significantly better, then only technogeeks will care about it. It'll die a quick death. But wait, there's more. The other factor is this. Even if the product is significantly better in terms of functionality, if the usability sucks then uptake of the product in the market could be minimal. IMHO there are many strikes against these products becoming mainstream products any time soon.
1. More on usability: webword.com (Disclaimer: This is one of my web sites.)
2. Bell Labs Reports on Progress Towards "Dick Tracy" Watch
3. Check Out a Watch Dick Tracy Would Envy
4. IBM stuffs Linux into "Dick Tracy's watch"
5. A User Interface Toolkit for a Small Screen Device
6. Is Timing Ripe for Wrist PDAs?
As Clay Shirky writes, users hate micropayments: The Case Against Micropayments. Think about how much work they are for readers, content owners, content creators, businesses, administrators, developers, and others. Micropayments suck because they are not usable for anyone and they don't offer much economic benefit unless you have truly high traffic. Of course, if you have high traffic, you probably aren't a small player.
In effect, you have a situation where small web sites and businesses can't charge (e.g., blogs), medium sized businesses can sometimes charge for unique content (e.g., Consumer Reports and Fark can charge for premium subscriptions), and large organizations can charge if they aggregate content or offer unique content (e.g., Wall Street Journal). In the end, the vast majority won't be able to charge (most content is crap and not unique) but a few large organizations will be able to charge. Those at the top of the heap will make money, the rest will run around like rats looking for sloppy droppings. End of story.
What was posted...
"goombah99 writes "Axis Computer has announced a single chip Linux based computer that integrates 2MB Flash, 8MB SDRAM and an Ethernet transceiver into a single chip with a 27mm x 27mm footprint. 'Just add power to the chip and you have a Linux computer with network connection.' It runs the Linux 2.4 kernel without any patches. The announcement says the chip is 'available' but the tech specs are labeled as preliminary, and the order form on the web site is broken, so it's hard to confirm if it is out yet or not. Some specifications in html and pdf are available at the company's web site."
What most non-Slashdot folks see...
"yak yak yak writes "Computer blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah computer blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. The announcement says the blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah order form on the web site is broken, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah company's web site."
Reference: http://www.wonderdog.com/farside.htm
I am not a programmer. However, I work with several programmers, engineers and designers. We have discussions about work all of the time. A couple of years ago programming and engineering seemed like great careers. However, with global competition (e.g., China and India) my colleagues are under a lot of pressure. You can cut the stress with a knife. Here are some of my thoughts on this.
1. These people enjoy stress. They spend so much time at work, it is insane. Yet, at the same time, this type of stress is different. It is inter-work stress, not intra-work stress. That is, it isn't stress related to solving interesting and complex problems. They are having a hard time dealing with it.
2. The impact of offshore competition is really starting to gain ground in most companies. Small companies, large companies, high technolohy companies, low technology companies. Especially if you are in IT, this is no joke. The global economy has arrived. Many workers never thought it would hit them, but it has. This means adjustments in salary expectations, job prospects, networking with others, and more.
3. In my opinion, most development companies outside of the U.S. don't realize the economic and social impact they are having on U.S. workers. They are relatively ignorant of how they are extracting money and jobs from U.S. workers. This isn't a complaint against these companies. It is merely an observation. (I'm curious what others have to say about this, especially developers from India, Eastern Europe, and other such places.)
4. The main competitive advantage for U.S. workers is their "sfot skills" in areas such as business analysis, communication, creativity and project leadership. A friend of mine recently interviewed with a company. They were entirely uninterested in his Java, Lotus / Domino, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, etc. skills, but they were very interested in his ability to communicate, his analysis skills, his writing skills, and so forth. In other words, they cared that he had a clue about how people actually work, versus just being a code monkey.
5. Most technical workers I know don't enjoy technology. Instead, they enjoy the challenge of technology: creativity, problem solving, analysis, puzzles, etc. Therefore, leaving technology wouldn't be such a big deal for most folks I know. One guy wants to be an English professor, another guy wants to drive a truck, still another guy wants to build houses. This is amazing to me because these guys are diesel. I mean, they are seriously good with technology and it would be a shame to see them go.
So how long until George kills this?
Probably the biggest problem in medicine today is lack of sleep of interns, nurses, and doctors. No joke. So many of these people lack sleep and it is killing us all.
Long Hours, Little Sleep
Sleep Deprived Medical Residents Ask for Limited Work Hours
Fatigue, Sleepiness, and Medical Errors
Doctors Are The Third Leading Cause of Death in the US, Causing 250,000 Deaths Every Year
...maybe because they are serial killers?
Why Some Doctors Kill
Demon Doctors - Physicians as Serial Killers
Medical Serial Killers
Britain plans wide probe of serial killer doctor
"I'm intrigued that their company name so bluntly builds off of Apple and Asimov symbols, and the prospect that a product with such a chummy name will doubtless soon be sporting lethal force..."
This doesn't surpise me at all. If this happened in 1999, it would be "eRobot" or "Robot.com" instead. The marketing drones just go with what is hot. They just throw around buzz.
This is news? Microsoft is constantly battling people in court! This is Just Another Lawsuit, folks. By the way, if you are interested, take a look at Computerworld's excellent coverage of Microsoft's legal battles:
Microsoft's Legal Battles
TOP SECRET RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
1 sesame-seed hamburger bun
Half of an additional hamburger bun
1/4 pound ground beef
Dash salt
1 tablespoon Kraft Thousand Island dressing
1 teaspoon finely diced onion
1/2 cup chopped lettuce
1 slice American cheese
2 to 3 dill pickle slices
INSTRUCTIONS
1. With a serrated knife, cut the top off the extra bun half, leaving about a 3/4-inch-thick slice. This will be the middle bun in your sandwich.
2. Place the three bun halves on a hot pan or griddle, face down, and toast them to a light brown. Set aside, but keep the pan hot.
3. Divide the ground beef in half and press into two thin patties slightly larger than the bun.
4. Cook the patties in the hot pan over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Salt lightly.
5. Build the burger in the following stacking order from the bottom up:
bottom bun
half of dressing
half of onion
half of lettuce
American cheese
beef patty
middle bun
remainder of dressing
remainder of onion
remainder of lettuce
pickle slices
beef patty
top bun
This is yet another device created by geeks for geeks. These researchers probably think this is a good idea, but do they really think it is a good idea for most people? How much market analysis was done? How much usability testing? Well, at least they are targeting corporations and large organizations. There might be some money in it down the road.
"On the rare occasions when astronomers have coaxed even sparse data from Pioneer 10 in recent years, they have used the readings to investigate everything from cosmic rays to chaos theory to gravitational mechanics."
Are we getting accurate data? Do we know that the data coming back is reliable? Should we trust Pioneer 10 and the data that it is sending us? Note: I'm glad it is still operating. That really is a feat. But, we should temper our enthusiam with a heatlhy dose of skepticism.
From the Cost of a CD from the RIAA web site:
"While the RIAA does not collect information on the specific costs that make up the price of a CD, there are many factors that go into the overall cost of a CD -- and the plastic it's pressed on, is among the least significant."
They admit they don't really know the costs. They don't have the data so they speak from ignorance. Or, they do have the data but don't want to admit what they know.
What does the RIAA think of barter? I have been searching for good resources on this issue but I haven't found very much useful information.
I disagree. People might have heard the acronymn "RIAA" but I bet they don't really understand who they are and what they do. Just because people know it doesn't mean that they know.
Does anyone have a clue what the RIAA thinks about barter and swap? I can't seem to find much on this topic.
I strongly disagree; this is definitely on topic. There has been little attention paid to other business models for sharing music. Read through the rest of the postings and you will see that people are asking how they can get hard-to-find music. They are talking about sharing music with other people. They are talking about music sharing communities. Trodo allows for exactly this kind of activity so posting information about it is a good idea.
We just launched a web site that is sort of like a free eBay or maybe something like an offline Napster: Trodo.com. What is Trodo? "Trodo is a place to trade stuff. It is a friendly barter system. It is a bazaar. It is place to swap stuff. It is a place to share. It is a place to meet people who have stuff you want. It is a place to find out-of-date and hard to find stuff. It is a place to give people stuff you don't want, and to get stuff they don't want." This is a legal, (currently) free, and easy way to exhcange stuff with other people, like CDs and books. After you pay for something and use it, trade it away and get something in return. As I said, we literally just launched. What do you think?
Let them settle things with a duel!
Excellent question. I had the same thought. The NPR piece actually touched on this topic in a few ways. For example, some guy could walk around in an area that is contaminated and then walk into another area "polluting" the new area that was not previously contaminated. And, as you mention, I wonder about the natually occuring sources. Detection should not necessarily determine causation.
Clarification: The detection is down to the level of one billionth of a gram, not one part per billion.
--
Trade it on Trodo!
http://trodo.com
This doesn't surpise me at all. On National Public Radio today (All Things Considered) a researcher was talking about the best research tool for tracking down weapons of mass destruction: a 4" x 4" cotton swab. They run the swab over almost any surface and can detect radioactive material to the level of 1 part per billion. Geeez.
--
Trade it on Trodo!
http://trodo.com
What is the relationship between usability and accessibility? Does improving accessibility improve usability, and if so, why? Is one more important than the other? Can you name some web sites that are easy to use, and accessible so we have some examples to follow?
Is it just me or do you also think that Joe's book cover look like goat.cx?
Will the Star Wars Universe reflect the Star Wars Holiday Special?