exploring a world of possibilities
Computers
I want. Want want want!!!
0This is a video of Dell’s upcoming “Inspiron Duo” tablet/netbook hybrid. The portability and touchscreen capabilities of the iPad meets the functionality of a netbook’s keyboard (and built-in stand). I sooooooooo want this.
DHS is pursuing the future of communication and computer interface design with PIE
01 year ago
Watch this video to see the vision of DHS’s new research venture called the Precision Information Environment. Sure, it looks like what a first responder might look like in the movie I, Robot, but imagine the power such unified communication would provide to the folks on the front lines of emergencies and in military situations. Amazing!
“Your Brain on Google”
11 year ago
This CBS News clip shows the brain activity of web-savvy individuals when they read a book and when they use the web. If you still think the urban legend that we only use 10% of our brains is true (it’s not), this video will blow your mind.
Bait & switch: Microsoft’s free new (lame) cybersecurity ebook for teens
0Microsoft, you disappoint me.
I was very excited to come across this post from Lifehacker today announcing a Microsoft’s free cybersecurity ebook. Hooked by the cover graphics (admit it, you are, too!) and reading that it was geared for teens, I quickly followed the link to see how I could begin to share this resource to all my friends and colleagues.
Too bad it was a massive bait-and-switch.
You see, while the cover shows a nicely drawn comic – seemingly promising the same inside the book – the book itself is pages….and pages…and pages….
…of TEXT.
Sure, there’s an occasional sketch thrown in, but I think Microsoft missed a huge opportunity to reach their target audience. Instead of using an engaging comic book (sorry, “graphic novel”) format, they defaulted to what so many critics of PowerPoint bemoan: a mind-numbing enormous tome consisting of text and bullets.
Admittedly, I’ve only skimmed the first chapter, but even that leads me to the conclusion that it’s written for someone with very limited web experience and enjoys reading endless pages of text combined with what seems to be a fairly condescending storyline.
If it isn’t obvious by now, I won’t be sharing this resource beyond this post.
If you happen to like the ebook, however, I’d like to know why in the comments!
The best systems are simple [TED video]
01 year ago
Simplicity is something we desperately yearn for in areas from data visualization to technology. Yet these very areas often stray into more complex waters, becoming less usable the further they go. George Whitesides, who has a background in chemistry and various other sciences, seems uniquely qualified to help us find a definition of “simplicity” in this TED talk.
If you don’t have 18 minutes to spare, then skip to the 7:30 mark and watch until about 15:30. Whitesides explains how an ideas as simple as a wall switch was used to create the transistor. Many transistors put together created the integrated circuit. Many integrated circuits helped create the computer chip which ultimately evolved into what we know as the Internet and cell phones. Which means a concept as simple as a wall switch was built upon to allow people in the most remote areas of the world to have access to people and information around the globe at their fingertips.