Genealogy: The Slippery Slope to Robot Domination

Long ago---the 1970s---genealogy was done by looking through family archives and visiting cemeteries in foreign countries linking deceased relatives. Genealogists could only dream of an easier way. Today the old tactics are still valuable, but searching enormous databases of extracted data from immigration records, birth and death certificates, marriage licenses and other legal documents is much more efficient. Computers have not yet been taught to make the connections between names and records that humans can, but they will be. To us that doesn't seem as remote or ridiculous as the idea of searchable databases did to people in the 70s. When computers can do that work, people will not be surprised and will return to looking through cemeteries trying to make the most difficult links. Well, until we find a way to make computers do that too. "I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords."

It Takes Two to Tango

It takes two to Tango, but it takes three to develop good software. The user, programmer, and middle management execute an intricate dance where all are happy, or at least one is not. Users want reliability and new features, but not overwhelming changes. Programmers want their software to be useful and different, but don't want to fix bugs. Middle management wants to be profitable, but not look bad for missing deadlines. If you release too many features too quickly, or if the software is buggy it won't be financially successful. If you spend too much time fixing bugs you will miss deadlines. If you try to capture a different market with a major GUI change then you tick off your current user base. Windows Vista is an excellent example of this process failing. Vista missed 3 ship deadlines and was not well liked by Windows users. In contrast Windows 7 was released on time and is now the best selling operating system ever. Huge companies can step on their dance partner's toes occasionally, but dancing well is imperative for the success of a small company.

1337 H4x0rz

Real hacking is an art. A black art, but still an art. No one can sit down at a computer and say to their self "I wonder what Pixar is working on in their data center right now?" and then break in and poke around. It would be a trivial task if you could traipse around a network knocking on doors until one opened, but important networks aren't like that today. IT professionals and programmers have learned through hard experience and public embarrassment that they can't trust anyone on their networks. If a network is valuable it is highly secured. Our networks have become an extension of us. Misbehavior on a network can lead to very real consequences. The most recent wave of copyright infringement lawsuits have shown that it is possible for file sharers to leave digital footprints that can be traced right to their real front doors. If a hacker is determined and educated in computer architecture and network communication, they will eventually find a weak spot and penetrate the network defenses. It won't be done overnight, or probably in a few weeks, but it can be done. Once they are in they can do whatever they want until they are detected; if they ever are detected. There will always be a need for security professionals to help keep our networks safe. This need will only increase as the earth becomes more connected and people move more and more personal information online.

Your Private Moon Tour

Man hasn't returned to the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. That isn't about to change, but the first private vehicle could be going in 2013. This private exploration--if successful--will demonstrate that any resources available on the moon can be available to corporations with enough money. A whole new economy will emerge for moon goods or perhaps services like moon tours. Imagine that! Renting a lunar rover to go check out that crater you saw in a telescope. These ideas are all somewhere in the future, but doors are beginning to open now which will make it real tomorrow.

The Passive Revolution

Did you tweet about the demonstrations in Egypt? Welcome to the revolution! Wait what? The idea that you can start a revolution from your twitter account is absurd. Social media applications (twitter, facebook, foursquare, and the like) have become essential communication tools. The Iranian demonstrations last year proved that they can be used to organize people behind a cause, but twitter employees weren't out in the street shouting. The people were. Tinting your twitter avatar green is, and always will be, a passive show of support! If you want a revolution, tweet or facebook your buddies about it and get on a plane to Egypt. Get out in the street and be heard.

There's no such thing as 'the social media revolution'

WikiLeaks -- Organized Crime Ring?

Tick off a government or two and get picked up on whatever charges they can manage against you? Just release a large encrypted file with a promise that if anything happens to you, you'll release the key. Who knows what is in there. It's kind of like extortion in a way, but could it actually be used as extortion? Say some shady banker 'wikileaks' sensitive documents about his client's tax evasion status. Say one of those clients was an extremely rich celebrity.
WikiLeaks: "Give us a million dollars or we'll go public with our dirt and ruin your image."
Celebrity: "No."
WikiLeaks publishes a little encrypted bomb.
Celebrity: "Ok I'll pay. Just don't hurt me!"
No one but WikiLeaks knows if the data in the bomb was garbage or actually damaging. I don't know if celebrities are scared of anything, but corporations are.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1348859/WikiLeaks-Banker-Rudolf-Elmer-arrested-revealing-tax-evaders-account-details.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/07/wikileaks-insurance-file/

Time Management and the Internets

I remember when I didn't have an internet connection. My computer seemed so uninteresting. It did productive tasks like word processing and solving difficult math problems. Times have changed, now my computer is 20 times faster and I don't do anything except extremely important and interesting things like surf the web. The internet, it seems, is a mixed bag. The world has access to more information than ever before but it doesn't seem to have made us any better as a people. When I look around in my classes I see people harnessing the power of the internet to explore the world around them! I mean to play flash games... Can we use our time more wisely? Can we use these new tools to become a better people? I don't know, but I'm going to go spend some quality time with my wife.