Bobaria

History Often Writes Itself Backwards

2010-08-20T19:48:00.001-07:00

This is an interesting article, but it makes a very huge assumption, though a powerful one for the sake of kissing Steve Jobs' boots. The article assumes that whomever was first out of the gates was clearly the one who "figured it all out".

This is very short-sighted. Most of these technologies take years to develop. So, even if a phone comes out a year or two after the iPhone, chances are that one company did not learn from the other, but that two companies were working on the same technology simultaneously and one happened to work faster.

The same thing happens in Hollywood. Someone pitches the idea for a movie (let's say a movie about an asteroid which is about to hit the Earth)... they pitch this idea to several studios. Neither of these studios buy the original script, but commission their own people to write a similar one. Suddenly, two (or three) movies come out with the same basic theme. Whichever one hits theaters first is considered the "original" and whichever ones were scheduled to be in theaters later are considered "copy-cats"... when in reality, all were "inspired" by the same source, which rarely gets glory or credit.

In Apple's case, they did not invent touch screen technology and they did not perfect it. They also did not "figure out" how to make it work well for a phone. The reality is, there were other talented engineers who were working on the problem of touch screens. They solved these problems and, suddenly, Apple and many other companies license (or rip off) this technology and then start running for the gates. Apple reaches the gates first, and everyone high-fives Steve Jobs. Those who make it to the gates next are said to have "copied Apple". It's a pretty sad process to watch, and an even sadder process to see the confused media twist the story around by connecting dots that really aren't there.

What Apple is truly successful at is marketing and PR. People forget that they failed with the Apple Newton, Mac TV, and a series of other Apple flops. Yet, eventually, Apple convinces the world that they invented the mp3 player by renaming it iPod. Next, they will convince the world that Apple TV didn't really flop by renaming it iTV. If they keep throwing that same noodle at the wall over and over again, eventually they'll get their strongest fanatics to gobble it up, then everyone can say they are leading the way.

in reference to: Marco.org - A smartphone retrospective (view on Google Sidewiki)

+1 For Misleading Titles

2010-06-24T12:32:00.001-07:00

5 in 5 PC/Mac applications pose potential privacy threat: report

in reference to: 1 in 5 Android apps pose potential privacy threat: report (view on Google Sidewiki)

Dailymotion - T-SHIRT WAR!! (stop-motion music video) - a Arts video

2010-02-12T10:34:00.000-08:00

Amusing video.

Dailymotion - T-SHIRT WAR!! (stop-motion music video) - a Arts video

Awesome

2010-02-10T20:51:00.001-08:00

Nicely done site.

in reference to: http://www.rpgnexus.org/ (view on Google Sidewiki)

Microsoft Has Lost Its Way

2010-01-23T20:15:00.001-08:00

This is exactly why Microsoft is so far behind these days. They focus on trying to "beat Google" in terms of the time to release features, instead of simply focusing on the user.

In fact, the recent zero-day flaw in Internet Explorer was known by Microsoft since September of 2009 and the patch for this security vulnerability was only released yesterday.

So, for four months the majority of the world was vulnerable to computer attacks while Microsoft spent three months feverishly trying to beat Google in implementing Twitter into their search engine. Really, Microsoft?

in reference to: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14242473 (view on Google Sidewiki)

We Are At War With Warmongers

2009-12-31T10:50:00.001-08:00

Cheney is just a warmonger. He is essentially saying, "We are at war with bad people." Well, I'm sorry Cheney, but bad people are going to continue to be here forever in some form or another. So, as long as you focus on intangible things such as "terrorism", you will think we are forever at war. You might as well set the threat level to RED and toss out all of the other colors for eternity. What way of life is that, really? Cheney wants the terrorists to win because he wants us to be terrified. Terrorists only win when we change our way of life to accommodate their actions.

Cheney considers us to be at war with intangible ideas such as "terrorism". Obama understands that we are at war with tangible groups such as Al Qaeda.

in reference to: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/31054.html (view on Google Sidewiki)

Bias is Fun

2009-12-31T10:33:00.001-08:00

Under the Obama administration, one al-Qaeda terrorist gets onto a plane and tries (but fails) to blow up his underwear. Due to this, Obama gets an "F" for protecting Americans. Number of Americans who died in that incident: 0.

Under the Bush administration, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. Due to this, which grade should Bush get for protecting Americans? Number of Americans who died in that incident: 2,973.

It seems to me this guy is grading on an extremely skewed curve. It looks like everyone gets an "F".

in reference to: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyharnden/100020934/barack-obama-gets-an-f-for-protecting-americans/ (view on Google Sidewiki)

Delayed Perception

2009-11-08T12:28:00.001-08:00

This ignores the fact that the economy is dynamic and often slow moving. Actions taken today might not be felt for generations.

So, do you have models which prove that actions taken from 1920-1950 were not that which was responsible for the economic climate felt from 1950-1980? Perhaps actions taken from 1950-1980 are directly responsible for what we are feeling today? And, perhaps actions taken today will be felt 20 or 30 years from now by future generations.

in reference to: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/07/reagan-reagan-reagan/ (view on Google Sidewiki)

Bad Analogies

2009-11-01T12:26:00.001-08:00

What Google is doing with Google Books would NOT be like if you or I went into a library and scanned a million books. Just because someone can make a bad analogy doesn't make their analogy fact. Google got the permission of the libraries.

If you or I got the same permission from the libraries to scan a million books... not for personal use, but to make it possible for others to find these books and know which libraries these books are available in... we would not be put into handcuffs. However, I'm sure that people would use bad analogies to make us look like criminals.

in reference to:

"“Imagine if you or I went into a library and scanned a million books. You’d be taken out in handcuffs,” said Edelman. “For Google to get this unique right and for it to be able to continue to use the fruits of this unauthorised scanning, that rubbed people up the wrong way. It’s like a school bully stealing your ice cream and then, when the teacher catches him, he gets to eat it anyway. It doesn’t feel fair, does it?”"
- http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article6898010.ece (view on Google Sidewiki)

Missing Money

2009-10-30T11:37:00.001-07:00

The point that Daniel is missing here is that if the $150 billion were simply handed out to individuals, sure you could pay twice as many people for a year... or the same number of people twice as much... but to when end? And, why only a year. The 650,000 jobs saved are presumably for more than just one year. These are jobs that (as long as the stimulus work keeps doing its job) will last for many years.

Furthermore, the $150 billion did not go into only "salaries"... but into resources to, for instance, repair roads or repair schools. So, you can't simply divide the money by the number of jobs and determine whether it was worth it or not. Sure, it makes the math simple, but the problem itself is not simple. We have gained value not only in the jobs saved, but the infrastructure which was rebuilt.

in reference to: http://business.theatlantic.com/2009/10/should_the_stimulus_saving_or_creating_650000_jobs_impress_us.php (view on Google Sidewiki)

Google Voice Blog: What is that number again?

2009-06-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

One of Google's top priorities for the automated transcription feature in Google Voice is trascribing numbers.

Google Voice Blog: What is that number again?

2009-05-21T17:07:00.001-07:00

Google has been testing a new feature with Google Maps recently. Now, search results contain a "star" icon. Clicking this icon "stars" the location within your account. By visiting My Maps and scrolling to the bottom of the list, you can see your "Starred Items".

2008-03-11T23:52:00.000-07:00

Google has announced a new API for YouTube today, letting anyone write code that will upload, modify, and stream videos from YouTube without ever leaving the developer's site. One service to use this soon will be TiVo.

http://apiblog.youtube.com/2008/03/something-to-write-home-about.html

2007-01-16T22:12:00.000-08:00

Yet another article about how a prominent blogger is worried about Google adding another useful feature.

http://digg.com/tech_news/New_Google_Checkout_Promo_New_Google_Trust_Worries

Google Maps Now Allows Multiple Destinations

2006-12-16T21:40:00.000-08:00

For those who have been waiting for this feature, the wait is now over. Now, driving directions using Google Maps allows multiple destinations. This will either allow you to plot a more complex trip, or allow you to force certain paths for longer trips for which you might have a better route in mind.

read more | digg story

CONFIRMED! Xbox 360 Will Sell for $100 on Amazon next Week

2006-11-18T20:58:00.000-08:00

Xbox 360 Will Sell for $100 on Amazon next Week

read more | digg story

Finally, a New Spiderman 3 Trailer

2006-11-17T19:22:00.000-08:00

Initially, there existed only a "teaser" trailer for the upcoming Spiderman 3 movie. Later, for a short while, an unofficial and incomplete Spiderman 3 trailer was floating around the web. Now, the latest Spiderman 3 trailer has been released. This looks like it will be a great one.

read more | digg story

Nice Collection of Optical Illusion

2006-11-15T22:18:00.000-08:00

Have you ever entered a movie theater on a sunny afternoon? The room probably appeared completely dark but as your visual system adjusted to the reduced level of light you were able to see better after a few moments.

Over forty examples of the illusion, viewable as static images (with mouse rollover) or Flash video.

read more | digg story

Scary Evil Priest - Optical Illusion from StareClips.com

2006-10-25T23:18:00.000-07:00

This optical illusion relies on a principle called "Chromatic Adaptation".

An object may be viewed under various conditions. For example, it may be illuminated by the sunlight, the light of a fire, or a harsh electric light. In all of these situations, the visual system indicates that the object has the same color: an apple always appears red, whether viewed at night or during the day. This feature of the visual system is called chromatic adaptation.

Have you ever entered a movie theater on a sunny afternoon? The room probably appeared completely dark but as your visual system adjusted to the reduced level of light you were able to see better after a few moments.

This "adaptation mechanism" allows our eyes to recover from an oversensitivity to a particular stimuli. "Chromatic adaptation" occurs when our eyes adjust to certain color stimuli. Chromatic adaptation is one of the more easily fooled aspects of vision, and is prone to some of the most spectacular optical illusions.

Original at: http://www.StareClips.com/Scary_Evil_Priest.asp

More at:
http://www.StareClips.com

2006-09-23T12:50:00.000-07:00


Why did the fool cross the road? To get hit on the other side.

2006-09-23T12:47:00.000-07:00


Sperm Cells.

Firefox "Whee"

2006-09-23T12:24:00.000-07:00


Funny fan-made commercial for the FireFox web browser.

2006-09-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

I think the founder of Wikipedia didn't get the memo. Google.com is not censored in China. Google created an alternative version, Google.cn, which merely removes the links from results that are blocked by China's Great Firewall. In other words, they merely created a less buggy version of Google.com and host it at Google.cn. Google.com is still uncensored and still available in China. For those in China who just want to be able to use a search engine and not get surprised by constant errors every other time they click a link, Google has made the alternative version available.

In fact, if the founder of Wikipedia just continues to fight, China is likely to keep ALL of Wikipedia blocked. In other words, the founder of Wikipedia is essentially censoring ALL of Wikipedia's information from the Chinese citizens by deciding to battle with the government of China in order to have some good PR in other countries that don't quite fully get the situation at hand.

2006-08-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

So, it looks like Google has officially changed their links. The link to Google Video now appears (with the usual NEW flag). It seems it may have replaced the Froogle link. Also, the "more>>" link now displays a quick pop-up featuring Books, Froogle, and Groups... then displays an "even more>>" link which takes the user to the usual listing of all Google products and services.

It would be nice if they could allow users to customize which links appear in which order, or if the most used services could appear first, etc... It might also be nice to see the Google Blog Search service be integrated with the rest of the search types.

2006-06-27T21:32:00.000-07:00

Developer Contest: Google Desktop Gadgets: "The Google Desktop Team just announced a Google Desktop Gadget Contest! The Desktop blog has the details, but here are a few highlights:

The contest runs through July 31 (winners will be announced August 21)
Everyone who submits a published Gadget will get a limited edition Google Desktop Developer T-shirt (there are other Google-y prizes too)
Top prizes: $5,000 for 1st place, $2,000 for 2nd place, and $1,000 for 3rd place
Primary judging criteria: popularity, visual appeal, use of new features (such as transparency/animation, Google Talk API integration, personalization, etc.) And be sure to check out the Google Desktop Gadget Designer, a new IDE and WYSIWYG UI creator for making Google Desktop Gadgets."

2006-01-12T08:18:00.000-08:00

I love the smoke and mirrors that Google manages to pull off every time. Remember Google Purchases? Remember when everyone was drooling about the possibilities, passing along secretly acquired screen shots? Well, Google recently released the feature but nobody was paying attention. Instead, they were paying more attention to the fact that the Google Video Store was released. Why is nobody interested in Google Purchases anymore? Because Google told everyone that it wasn't a PayPal killer. It was only a way for customers to pay Google, they said. No worries, PayPal. No worries.

Take a look at the Google Purchases Terms of Service page. "The Service facilitates the processing of Payment Transactions to complete a payment for a purchase between a Buyer and a Seller." Also, "GPC shall not be responsible for, and does not control, the quality, safety or legality of the Products advertised, the truth or accuracy of the description of the Products, the ability of Buyers to buy Products, or the ability of Sellers to deliver Products. GPC shall not be responsible for, and does not control, whether or not a Seller will complete the sale of Products to Buyer." Gosh. Sounds much closer to a PayPal system every day, doesn't it? A PayPal system specifically between buyers and sellers.

Google also said that Google Base wasn't an eBay killer. Sure, maybe they won't institute a bidding system. However, if they allow individuals to post products and services for free via Google Base, then later allow individuals to make transactions via Google Purchases, this is everything that eBay/PayPal is, minus the bidding system. "But, eBay is ONLY a bidding system," you say? Have you not seen the "Buy It Now" feature? This will all directly compete with eBay's "Buy It Now" feature, with Yahoo Stores, and so on and so forth.

So, while the media is complaining that Google Video only has 5 episodes of MacGyver for sale, they managed to slip another service right beneath everyone's noses. Pretty soon, Google Calendar will seem like just a minor Gmail service update. I suppose, then, that Internet Explorer was just a "patch" in Windows systems when it was first released.

Don't get me wrong. I am not complaining. Not one bit. I think that Google is kick-starting the world of technology into the marketplace is was always meant to be. This is a wonderful thing, and a long time coming. I just find it funny that for all of those avid Google Watchers out there, Google still has more tricks up their sleeves. Maybe the next trick will be to get people to install an auto-updater for third-party applications from Microsoft competitors. They will disguise this as a bundle of useful software. It will be called, innocently, Google Pack. Ah, yes, Google. Keep those hands in the finger pyramid of clever contemplation.

2005-11-15T21:41:00.000-08:00

Perhaps this is a sign that Google Base is close to becoming a reality? Here is a link to Google Base's Help Center. Lots of information here. Shares a lot in common with the Help Center for Froogle Merchants. Upon visiting some answers, then hitting refresh repeatedly, a 404 error such as "The requested URL /support/bin/answer.py?answer=25290&topic=2904 was not found on this server." is given. Perhaps this is simply because it is not ready yet? Or, perhaps it is actually being replicated throughout their massive server farm as I type this. Close? Let's hope. In the meantime, at least there are positive signs of real progress here.

*** UPDATE: Looks like I was discovering Google Base while it was being pushed live. Just moments ago, I stumbled onto the fact that the Google Base website is now live. http://base.google.com.

2005-11-14T14:22:00.000-08:00

It may be worth mentioning (or not) that there is a new entry to Google's robots.txt file.

/chart?

Although this may have something to do with the release of Google Analytics (for free,) so far there is nothing that resolves to "/chart". In other words, even if this is going to be nothing more than something tied to Google Analytics, this seems to be something new in the works and likely to be released soon.

2005-10-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a lot of buzz today about "Google Base". Has nobody else noticed the "Video Blog" link at the bottom of the search results page of the Google Video website? Above are some screenshots. As you can see, the video blogger needs special access. Perhaps this is yet another upcoming release? Let's see... Google Calendar... Google Purchases... Google Base... Google Video Blog... It looks like Google has been pretty busy these days. Just for kicks, on the standard Google Search website, enter the name of any two cities as your search. For instance, search for San Jose to Denver in Google Search. Ok, look... it seems to be a relatively new feature not yet documented anywhere on Google's website.