Category: Digital Life

Web 2.0 or Me vs. We

Carl Setzer4 Comments

One of my chums posted a very thoughtful piece about the Web 2.0 and how it is resulting in more ego-centrism (give the Angry African a read here). Thoughtful thoughts should beget thoughtful thoughts, don’t you think? Well, here are mine (for what they’re worth…money back if not delighted).

One great danger of Web 2.0 comes from our ever demanding ego. The temptation is great to simply feed it by tracking our followers on Twitter, reviewing our blog stats, ever checking our Technorati ratings, ad nauseum. Also, the temptation to simply post things to generate more readers is challenging. I see this thinking related to the adolescent mind. The form of thinking that only sees the group in terms of me. Group acceptance is paramount, even though it stems from a desire (or so claimed, at least) for independence.

Perhaps the issue, really, stems from the fact that the web, like all societal institutions, is accessible to people regardless of the state of maturity. Thus, we’re stuck with people focusing more on the numbers of interactions than on the quality. The members of our society are evolving at different rates, starting at different times. Web 2.0 loves them all.

The Angry African also brings up poverty, and the resulting lack of access. My sincerest hope is that Moore’s law combining with the economies of scale will bring these tools to more and more people globally. However, until that time, we are left with hoping their voices are heard. Most of that comes from those who “care”. Sadly, many of those are drowning in paternalism. Finding ways to ensure the voices of the impoverished and exploited are heard in a genuine way is deeply challenging.

For me, the medium summed up as tech, offers the world so very much. Perhaps I’m too Pollyannaish.

Windows and other fun

Carl Setzer

As much as I love the Mac OS, and Macs in general, I’m finding myself using Vista much more. Simply, it works better with everything that I need to do right now. Several employment applications are IE only. There have been several skills tests that have only worked on Windows as well. Though it makes me a little sad, at least I’m not one of the Windows bashers who has
to eat his words. *Ahem*

Seattle PI

Carl Setzer

I’ll let you read the article, but the gist is that the Seattle Post Intelligencer will be shutting down print operations after tomorrow’s edition, ending a 146 year tradition. In the article, one of the copy editors, a Glenn Ericksen, asks “Who needs copy editors on the Web?” Well, Glenn, quite a few sites do. For publications like the PI to really make it as a professional web publication, they will desperately need copy editors. My believe is that news sites will need to maintain the highest standards in order to justify their readership. And failings will be far more magnified for them (just look at all the snarking about basic grammar errors on any major site). Thus, copy editors, and their kin, will have a place. Well, I hope for such.

As a long time subscriber to the PI, and a one-time paperboy for the publication, this is truly a sad moment. Watching their website evolve over the past few years, and seeing some of the talent they’ve brought on board recently, I believe this “paper” is one of the best positioned to do well in the new media order.

*Update: The PI’s Executive Producer Michelle Nicolosi wrote a good piece describing the PI’s efforts to be relevant in the new media world.

Flock

Carl Setzer

Ok, folks, here’s a new (to me, at least) toy for the socially networked: Flock. This is a browser built on the Gecko engine (same as the framework for Firefox). It integrates such sites as Facebook, Blogger, Flickr, and the like. I’ve only had a bit of time to mess with this tonight, but it’s pretty handy so far. This post was written with a built in blog editor. If you spend much time in the social network space, and it’s hard not too any more, this looks like it’ll be a great tool.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Microsoft Challenges the iPod (Again) – New York Times

Carl Setzer

Microsoft Challenges the iPod (Again) – New York Times

I’m glad Microsoft is getting going in this space; it’ll serve to keep Apple honest and not take us for granted. Competition is good, blah, blah. Apple is (hopefully) not going to make the same mistake as they did in the desktop wars of the 80’s.

Article and thoughts

Carl Setzer

A little story about the iPhone, particularly about its upcoming release, but also exploring its Seattle connections. My favorite part, though, is the writer calling Bill Gates the “Simon Cowell of the software world”.

 

Though the iPhone brings forth some serious geek lust in me, I just can’t see springing for this anytime soon. The price point is a biggie, but I also have a great deal invested in the Palm/Treo line. Also, I hardly use my iPod, so I can safely say that I don’t need that feature.

 

If I was richer, I would be more willing to take a risk on a new platform (it wouldn’t be as much a risk, since I could just run out a buy another gadget at will, though). As I sit, though, I need to consider price and currently offered features. It’ll be interesting to see how this device plays out, though. I think this will have a great impact, and make the smart-phone more mainstream.

 

More Vista Thoughts

Carl Setzer

One thing that I would love to have seen, and that would have made me run out and by Vista, or any OS, is a focus on speed and efficiency. I’m quite sure that Vista is in the same boat as all the rest of the MS OS offerings. More features, more bloat, more RAM, less efficiency and S-L-O-W. At some point, I want all the OS options to focus on using less resources. Use what I have better! Of course, then I wouldn’t NEED to run out and buy something new every few years (months?). Sigh, I’m back to cynicism again…

Vista and other joys

Carl Setzer

Well, I’ve seen much of the hoopla around the release of windows newest edition and have been feeling quite underwhelmed. Nothing huge, mind you, just that I haven’t seen anything as yet to induce to buy any of the versions. Comically, I’m still trying to discern the differences between the different versions. What do I get for the $100 version, vs. the $400? I know some of the pieces, but am still not feeling a great, well, anything. With XP, I could tell you what I would get with Home vs. Profession, and why someone should get one or the other. Vista’s a bit too messy for me, I’m afraid. I’m more excited about installing Ubuntu Linux right now. I just need to budget some time to do a full backup first, then I will partition my Compaq’s hard drive and set it up for dual boot. Hopefully, doing the full install will enable me to troubleshoot my issue with my wi-fi card (running Linux from the cd, I was unable to use my wi-fi card. Oddly, it was detected and on the list of supported devices.) I’ve been looking forward to experimenting with Linux for years. This should be fun, in that odd, geeky way of fun that I have. Yeah, I’m the guy who set up a wireless network for fun. Sigh…

Apple Waves Its Wand at the Phone – New York Times

Carl Setzer

Apple Waves Its Wand at the Phone – New York Times

One of a zillion articles on the debut of the iPhone. Dave Pogue has one key piece missing from most others: he’s actually handled one (albiet for around an hour). I really appreciate Pogue’s review, especially in lieu of the aforementioned point. If you’re excited by the thing, this a great piece to give you some insight about how the thing actually works. With that in mind, another good piece on all of this is over at Treonauts. They’ve done a great job comparing the Treo 680 and the iPhone.

Another good piece to read is this one at the NY Times. It gives a good explanation about Cingular’s motivations in all this. In here, I have one point to argue with Roger Entner an analyst with Ovum Research (Ovum? Anyway…). He’s arguing that the price point ($499) will limit its appeal. He needs to look at the iPod, and how it was introduced. I would gamble that Apple has several lower cost options in the works (the iPhone Mini and Nano?), which it will release after it has solidly grabbed the “cool” market. The iPod was quite expensive to start, which ensured it was the domain of the chic. Notice, too, that Apple always has something in the spendy category, keeping the elite fueled with ego stoking while expanding the product’s reach.

It looks to me that the keyboard will be the key marketing grounds for these devices (remember, the iPhone has the virtual one). Though I’m filled with gadget lust for one of these, it’s hard for me to ignore price (I can get an unlocked 680 for the low end price for an iPhone. It is my deepest hope that the iPhone will kick start Palm, Motorola, RIM and the rest to redouble their efforts. It’s very clear that Apple’s here for the long-haul and will innovate the pants off of anyone slacking. To my chums at Palm, look closely (and quickly) at the iPhone, then get to WORK. You have the best chance to really compete.