WINDING DOWN
An idiosyncratic look at, and comment on, the week’s net and technology news
by Alan Lenton
Well, are you ready for your (nearly) weekly helping of Winding Down? For starters we have a soupcon (yes I know, there should be a wiggly bit under the ‘c’ in that word, but I don't have one on my keyboard) of mind enhancing drugs, a small wedge of Oprah Winfrey, and a rather suspicious picture from the New York Times. For the main we take a look at an important feature of the latest Android operating system, spreadsheets, and NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory. For the cheese course we have an interesting little quote from the Guardian newspaper, and for dessert, there are multi-colored LED light bulbs, and a 95 foot flying whale. After which we will retire for coffee and a selection of petit fours, looking at refunds on software faults, climate change, solar eclipses, Windows 8 sales, and an ID theft in Athens.
Never let it be said that Winding Down isn’t capable of producing a gourmet meal!
Shorts:
I was rather amused to see that while one group of academics is discussing the possibility of introducing drug testing in an attempt to eliminate mental performance enhancing drugs in students, another is considering the idea of providing the same performance enhancing drugs to healthy older people, to enable them to work longer! Perhaps some slightly more joined up thinking is in order here...
Personally, I’d be only too happy have access to drugs that improve my memory - especially my short term memory - while programming. I have little doubt that it would significantly improve my programming ability. The only real question is how to prevent the pharmaceutical industry from hiding details of potential side effects, so that an informed decision can be made.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9658496/Students-could-be-tested-for-performance-enhancing-drugs.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9659624/Drugs-could-keep-elderly-working-for-longer.html
I was even more amused to note that Oprah Winfrey has been declaring her undying love for Microsoft’s new Surface tablet on Twitter - using her iPad to send the message!
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/20/oprah_tweets_surface_love_from_ipad/
Take a look at the New York Times picture in this URL <http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/11/14/world/SYRIA/SYRIA-articleLarge.jpg>. It purports to be from civil war torn Syria. Does it look familiar? More like something from one of the latest shoot-em-up video games than from real life, I’d say.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/14/nyt_syria_photo/
Homework:
Lauren Weinstein has an interesting piece on his blog about the fact that the new version of the Android phone operating system (4.2 - Jellybean) has a built-in facility that allows you to enlarge text with a gesture. As someone advancing in years (Now, where did I put put my Zimmer frame? I really must get some memory enhancing drugs.) I know I’m starting to find myself needing a magnifying glass to read text in some of the latest electronic offerings. Well done to Google’s programmers and designers, and a word to other designers, “What will you do in some years’ time when you discover that you can no longer read the contents of your portfolio without a magnifying glass?”
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/001002.html
The Register has an interesting piece on the rise, and dangers inherent in the ubiquitous spreadsheet. How many millions of pounds would you invest on the basis of an Excel formula? Come to that would you knowingly fly on a plane for which the stresses on the wings were calculated in a spread sheet? I don’t know why people assume that something must be meaningful, or even correct because it’s in a spread sheet, but it is the case. Certainly if I was a master criminal scammer, I would do it with spreadsheets...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/19/spreadsheets/
Oooh! Nice. NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory manage to get pictures of a couple of dramatic solar flares as they erupted from the surface of the sun. Take a look - it’s an impressive piece of video.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/19/double_sun_eruptions/
I was sad to see that the last ever typewriter manufactured in Britain has just rolled off the assembly line at Brother’s factory in Wales. My parents gave me a Brother portable typewriter when I was 14 - probably an effort to stop me bringing home school reports decrying my dreadful handwriting... Typewriters are still manufactured in Asia, but there isn’t much demand for them in Europe - now that even cheap printers can handle printing envelopes!
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/21/brother_last_uk_typewriter/
Geek Stuff:
First off the block in this section is LIFX with multi-color LED light bulbs that you can control from your smartphone. They are still in the development stage, having raised their needed funding on Kickstarter. Lots of potential, I suspect. I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for when they come onto the market, hopefully next year.
http://www.gizmag.com/lifx-smartphone-led-lights/24201/
OK - it’s after Thanksgiving, so I can unleash the reindeer of Xmas over the next few issues, and start telling you about possible gifts for this year’s festive season.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No. It’s a 98 foot flying whale! Actually, it’s a giant 98 foot kite designed to look as much like a Fail Whale as possible. Very impressive and a snip at US$6,000 each. Be the first one on your block to fly one of these babies from the roof - or give it to your significant other as a present, then you will also get to play with it!
http://io9.com/5962168/beware-the-real+life-98+foot-fail-whale-who-terrorizes-the-skies
Quote of the week:
“Put another way, having the career of the beloved CIA Director and the commanding general in Afghanistan instantly destroyed due to highly invasive and unwarranted electronic surveillance is almost enough to make one believe not only that there is a god, but that he is an ardent civil libertarian.”
Glenn Greenwald - The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/13/petraeus-surveillance-state-fbi
Scanner: Other stories
OEMs and sellers should pay refunds on software faults - UK Office of Fair Trading
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/30/digitalrefund/
Climate change roundup:
Steady Antarctic ice growth ‘limits confidence in climate predictions’
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/12/antarctic_ice_growth_investigated/
Coffee next on climate chopping-block: the looming ARABICA APOCALYPSE
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/10/coffee_under_climate_threat/
Climate NON-change: No increase in droughts since 1950
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/17/no_more_droughts_than_in_1950/
Swedish boffins: An ICE AGE is coming, only CO2 can save us
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/09/peat_ice_age_coming_only_co2_can_save_us/
The November 2012 Solar Eclipse, as seen 3 times by satellite (video)
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/11/14/november-2012-total-solar-eclipse-by-satellite-video/?WT_mc_id=SA_CAT_SPC_201211153600
Retailers report slow Windows 8 sales, low demand
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/19/retailers_report_slow_win8_sales/
Man arrested in Athens over ID theft of most of Greek population
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1290410
Acknowledgements
Thanks to readers Barb and Fi for drawing my attention to material used in this issue.
Please send suggestions for stories to alan@ibgames.com and include the words Winding Down in the subject line, unless you want your deathless prose gobbled up by my voracious Spamato spam filter...
Alan Lenton
alan@ibgames.com
25 November 2012
Alan Lenton is an on-line games designer, programmer and sociologist, the order of which depends on what he is currently working on! His web site is at http://www.ibgames.net/alan.
Past issues of Winding Down can be found at http://www.ibgames.net/alan/winding/index.html.
