Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The Rest Of My Brain (part 1)

Silicon Picks Up Where Gray Matter Leaves Off

In decades past, we all admired that one friend who had an amazing array of facts at ready recall. It seems to me that that's a little less impressive today. We all have easy access to a limitless supply of facts, if not wisdom ... we get those facts any time, anywhere, on the Internet. Some of them might not be accurate, you say? That's okay. I was never sure about all those facts that impressive friend was always talking about. The point though, is that quick research on any topic is as nearby as Google, Wikipedia, and IMDB.

I don't have to remember anybody's address, phone number, or even the names of their kids. I have an address book application on my computer. 

I don't have to know my "times tables" as long as I have a calculator handy. And of course I always do, since it's built into my smartphone (which is never far from my hand).

Every journal paper, every blog post, every email message I've ever written could be stored together and still fit on a cheap USB thumb drive looped onto a key ring, ready to be searched.

The point is that technology has extended and partially externalized our brains. No matter how smart you are, I'd wager that you are more effective when you have your preferred technology tools at the ready.

Is this really all that different than tools and machines extending your physical abilities? Is it different from a shovel helping you to dig a hole faster or a bike helping you to cover distance faster and more easily? I'm not sure, but in my experience most people think of it as being different.

Will this trend of externalizing your brain continue? Is it a good thing, a bad thing, or just a thing?

I have a feeling that I may have more to say on this, especially if some of you tell me that you like this topic. So I'm calling this the end of part 1.


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Friday, February 24, 2012

Do Not Track

Better Prospects for Privacy on the Web?

Your web browsing has been tracked since the first time a banner ad appeared over a news story you read on the web in the 1990s. Ad companies want to profile your browsing so that they can show you targeted ads that you might click. The guys who own those ads that you click want buyers, and they pay the ad companies more for serious prospects. So everybody is motivated to track your browsing.

You are very likely a willing party in this. By getting targeted ads and targeted search results, your web experience is tailored to you. I may get ads for sport fishing and classic rock, you might get ads for spinning classes and Lady Gaga concerts.

Some people, though, are not always comfortable with being tracked. Our names may generally not be directly associated with the online profiles that are pieced together from our browsing, but our network addresses are. Those network addresses are often just one step away from our names, so once correlated the data potentially creates a very thorough dossier on us.

Any of us might have reason to want anonymity to access medical or psychological or political resources that are nobody's business but our own. Is it possible to preserve anonymity or at least privacy?

Maybe. The Firefox browser has a Do Not Track feature that allows users to inform web sites that they wish to opt out of third-party tracking. How much protection does that afford today? Hard to say. But the White House released a privacy white paper and framework this week that, among other things, encouraged "multistakeholder efforts" to develop a Do Not Track mechanism. Initial reactions have been favorable, so perhaps the future prospects for privacy on the web just got a little brighter.

Concerned about this topic? Encouraged by the idea of a privacy bill of rights? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Apple iPad 3

Coming soon to an Apple Store near you

The rumors are now coming fast and furious: the next rev of the Apple iPad is due out very soon. Signs are pointing to an early March product announcement, with availability to follow very soon after.

Form Factor: There's broad agreement from sources that the iPad 3 will have the same general form factor as the iPad 2 (9.5 x 7.3 inches), with the same size screen (9.7 inch display). The device may possibly be slightly thicker to accommodate a modest set of changes on the circuit board.

Display: We should see a much higher resolution display, likely 2048 x 1536 or twice the pixels in each dimension (so 4x overall). This should make for crisp images in the user interface and a true HD movie viewing experience. A display of that resolution can fairly be called a retina display in which the eye cannot pick out individual pixels.

Processor: Lately, this has been the area of greatest speculation. The iPad 2 has a dual-core A5 processor. Many Apple-watchers had been expecting a quad-core A6 processor, but some sources have very recently claimed to have a photo of the circuit board in which an A5X processor was clearly seen.

Camera: The iPad 2 cameras weren't anything special, so it's very reasonable to guess that we'll see a very significant upgrade here. Gizmodo, iLounge and other sources seem convinced that the iPad 3 will have an HD front facing camera to accommodate very high quality FaceTime. That seems like the most important camera upgrade to me. Few people want to take snapshots with the iPad, since the larger form factor is clumsy (and you have a smartphone that takes photos already, right?). The iPad is a natural for casual video conferencing, though, if a good network connection is available – and if the camera is of high enough quality.

Network: Will the iPad 3 carrier networking include 4G LTE? This is an interesting question. It's early days in terms of coverage nationwide, so the device would have to rely on 3G most of the time. But the inclusion of 4G at this point would clearly signal an intent to release a 4G iPhone in the summer. That, in turn, would signal belief on Apple's part that AT&T and Verizon 4G rollout is happening at a fast enough pace to make the decision worthwhile. This is a space to watch.

Voice Control: Siri on the iPad 3 would be a real winner, and I do expect to see it. The implementation on the iPhone 4S today involves the use of two microphones in order to do noise cancelation. A similar implementation on the iPad 3 would require the addition of a second microphone. Alternatively the software could be more tolerant of noise. My guess is that we'll see a Siri implementation and that the iPad 3 will get a second microphone to accommodate it.

Price: I'm guessing that the iPad 3 will sell at the very same price points that the iPad 2 sells for today, and that at least some models of the iPad 2 will continue to be offered at lower prices. My bet would be $100 or even $150 off the current price. How does a $349 base model iPad 2 and a $499 base model iPad 3 sound?

Those are my best guesses! Do you have different guesses? If the above turn out to be largely correct, is the iPad 3 on your shopping list this spring?

Please leave a comment and let us know what you think.


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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Vacation at the Southern Most Point in the USA


America 2
Key West is an amazing place, with a rich seafaring history and an economy originally built a few hundred years ago on the bounty of recovered cargo from countless ship wrecks. Today, the surrounding waters still play an important role, but now fun-loving tourists come for the great weather, clear water, beautiful sunsets and great night life. Crowing roosters wander the streets with the margarita-drinking tourists, and quirky artistic locals keep it interesting.





Southernmost Point
Tuna Tartare
My wife and I took the opportunity to "live it up" for a few days in Key West in February 2012, starting off at the Sunset Pier at the end of Duval Street with ceviche and tuna tartare and a rum drink. We then headed up Front Street to the old harbor area, stopping at a display of Mel Fisher's recovered sunken treasure from the Spanish ship the Atocha. We walked by the pelicans and tarpon swimming alongside the harbor boats and then ducked in at Conch Republic for a sipping rum. We spent an hour or so listening to the guitar player along with a friendly and relaxed crowd, all watching the boats come in and out while drinking cold beers and rum drinks and eating raw-bar seafood. Over at the east side of the harbor were some of the sail boats available for daytime and sunset cruises, like the pirate ship Jolly Rover with its red sails, and the sleek America 2, which is a replica of the 1891 America’s Cup winner. When it was time to walk some more, Kermit’s Key West Key Lime Pie shop supplied me with a chocolate-dipped slice of key lime pie on a stick. Amazing! Later, we were back at the harbor for a great dinner of oysters, smoked fish, tempura conch, and a fish sandwich at a table shared with other friendly tourists.

Jolly Rover
The next day we decided to do some walking and museum visits, including the Shipwreck Museum and the Mel Fisher Treasure museum. Both were excellent. Then a walk down Duval Street to Caroline's for a lunch of peel and eat shrimp and salads. That evening, a sunset walk in Mallory Square included jugglers, artists and the wacky "cat guy" (he's hilarious, and the acrobatic cats are great). By coincidence we came across some friends from “up north” and visited with them briefly. We watched the sun go down, and then headed out for drinks at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville and then an exotic dessert at a specialty restaurant called Better than Sex.
My King Mackerel

Over the next several days we watched Schooners sail by, sometimes with the sunset as a backdrop. We enjoyed a sunset sail aboard the beautiful America 2, which included wine and fruit. I even got a turn at the ships wheel!  We fished the gulf and landed a Mahi-mahi, a Spadefish, a Cero Mackerel and my main target that day, a King Mackerel. Great fun, and we have pictures of it all. To top it off, we took home some fresh fish filets and had them cooked for us for lunch back at the hotel, and served to us out at the pool. Nothing beats very fresh fish prepared expertly.

That night we stopped in at Pat Croces Rum Barrel for a salad and some exotic rum, then walked down to the gallery area of Duval. We heard an amazing female singer performing at Willie Ts.
 
On our last day we rented a couple of bikes and headed to Zachary Taylor State Park. We swam and had a lunch of bagels and lox and smoked fish salad, and enjoyed walking and riding bikes through the park and over to the old civil war fort with its huge cannons.

All too soon it was time to pack up, catch a cab to the airport, and head home.

I love Key West and will return soon!


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Thursday, February 9, 2012

Ceviche

Conch or Fish "cooked" in lime

I'm looking forward to an upcoming vacation in which I hope to eat some conch. It made me think of a ceviche recipe I have used for fish, and that I assume would be great for conch. Here it is:


Simple Ceviche

  • A pound or two of conch meat (or fish), rinsed well
  • 2 whole limes
  • 1 stick of celery
  • 1 jalapeƱo pepper
  • 1 yellow or red bell pepper
  • fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, pressed
  • 1-2 tbsp. olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Chop conch (or fish) into very small pieces. Thoroughly squeeze the juice from the limes and place the seafood directly into the juice. Next, chop the peppers and celery, then toss the peppers, celery, cilantro and garlic in the olive oil, and add just a little salt and pepper. Add the mix to the conch and lime juice, toss again and then chill in the fridge for several hours.

That's all there is to it!

Toss once more right before eating. Serve in a martini glass along with chilled, thin sliced cucumbers and some crackers or tortilla chips. Pair this with a Bloody Mary or a cold Corona.

I've had many great variants of ceviche. If you have a different one to tell us about, please leave a comment.

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Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Your Undersea Adventure

Submarine hides under this pontoon boat


Readers of this blog know that I gravitate to information about interesting vehicles. Friends know that I spend a lot of time around the ocean. Taken together, it really should come as no surprise that I'd be interested in the Ego Compact Submarine.


The concept is that a two person glass enclosure sits in a fixed position below a stable, 12-foot long battery-powered pontoon boat with twin thrusters. A hatch in the deck of the above-water portion allows passage to and from the "submarine" portion. The lower portion cannot dive or navigate independently, but should afford some amazing views in clear water.




It's hard to really know how practical this craft is without seeing it in action. It obviously draws at least 7 feet or more of water, and a pontoon boat is probably not a great choice for rougher waters. So the most practical application is probably calm, clear, protected waters of at least 15 to 20 feet deep. I could see using this craft in some of the best snorkeling locations where the waters aren't too rough and you can count on the appropriate depths.

The Ego is said to be commercially available now, but no price information was easily available. Is this personal sub on your wish list? How much do you think it's worth? Would you want to take a ride in it? Please leave a comment and let us know.






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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Magnetic Soap

A better way to clean an oil spill?


Photo credit Red Orbit
Julian Eastoe at the University of Bristol in the UK has developed and demonstrated a way to magnetize soap. The use case he has in mind is to allow the detergents used in oil-spill cleanup to then be withdrawn from the water magnetically, finishing the clean up job. The idea seems to hold great promise, and the story is making the rounds in major news sources and science blogs.

In an interview on NPR, Ira Flatow asked Professor Eastoe whether the technique might also be used to help clean sea birds and other wildlife caught in oil spills. Eastoe said that he was interested in this possibility, too, and had been doing some preliminary experiments cleaning oil from the goose down found in feather pillows.


What do you think: could this be useful? Do you have a use in mind for Magnetic Soap? Post a comment here and let us know!


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