Now is the time to "commit sociology"

News reports are sensational. They have to be when the networks are competing for advertisers' business. Unfortunately, it means that politicians will be playing along : rash comments, reactionary views - something to appease their supporters.
As much I would like to have confidence in the people in Parliament or legislature, I was appalled by Prime Minister Harper's comment about the bombing at the Boston Marathon when he said that it is no time to commit sociology.

No social science is perfect - no social science is objective whether it be economics, history, anthropology or sociology. For that matter, no applied science like physics, biology, chemistry or medicine is objective either : they depend on funding, ideology and a cultural legacy.

Buttonless Trackpoint?!!

The new S431 makes me think again about the ThinkPad line. A new keyboard design was controversial, but changing the trackpoint too?

I am not sure I will like the buttonless touchpad. I exclusively use the trackpoint on my ThinkPad. It works flawlessly : I know what I am pressing thanks to the textured buttons.

Voice commands on a phone are useless

I don't think I have ever seen anybody use the voice commands of a phone. I was surprised a few years back when I saw the Siri commercial for the new idiot phone. Although systems like Nuance Dragon Naturally Speaking are useful for the visually challenged or physical challenges, interview transcription and other applications, the majority of us are comfortable using a key based entry system to have a written record of our thoughts to launch an action. Nintendo's Wii and Kinect style interfaces were gimmicks, but did gain traction nonetheless.

I cannot stand watching instructional videos when I know it will take me a tenth of the time to read the instructions. On that thought, wouldn't it be wonderful if all the instructional videos on youtube had searchable transcripts?

What would it be like if we heard our own voice repeated to ourselves in order confirm our commands?

As time goes by, it makes more sense to me that we should learn to have better command of our voices and a pencil to draw. For a fact, I know that most entries on this blog, are not worth reading, and would have been best as fleeting thoughts.

iWatch, smartwhatch, whatever you want to call it, will be a joke

In the 1950s and 60s, we all believed the space was upon us. Everything would change drastically. The same went on about the internet 15 years ago. However, seeing the world as it is, few things have really changed : we still need heat to cook food, water for plumbing, food to eat.

As much as smartphones have changed the way we use computers, that is dragging it around with us where ever we go, the smartwatch fad won't come to fruition. A standard hand watch has a lot more class than a digital one, and in most cases, does everything we need : check the time.

While some people became rich with smartphones, tablets etc. the fad will pass.

Why are you better off buying CDs than getting the songs off iTunes

Using a computer is great, however that mostly has to do with the fact that we are connected to the internet. Often enough, my connection is too slow for voice chat, let alone update some of my software.
While I do appreciate the low distribution costs of some digital software, when it comes to music or audio books, there is very little incentive to buy online : the price is almost the same and  who knows what will happen to the online retailer in a few years... Unless you make copies of everything and put them hard drives, you may not be able to recover the purchased material.

The Tar Sands are Killing More Than Just Wildlife

The tar sands are not bad as such. Greed, corruption and incompetence of the Conservative Party which is ruling the Canadian Government is at fault. While natural resources are important to all of us for everything from electricity, to clay to metals to event to fuel for transportation, we cannot allow a single industry to control our lives. Under its current leadership, Canada is becoming a rogue state. Failing to ratify global agreements, insulting the UN by withdrawing from conventions and muzzling scientific research, there are no signs that the arrogance is going to stop.

Industry could develop and research improved extraction technology, but costs get in the way. The Keystone XL pipeline, or other pipelines which are several thousands of kilometres long do not make sense from an ecological perspective.

Turning this blog into branded content...

I am listening to The Current on CBC, and I am imagining what it would be like to be a publisher, a site which takes pride in good writing and reporting.

For the longest time, I recall seeing reports on Global TV which were non-news : new tech products, car reviews, product trends etc. The majority of the entries on this site have demonstrated a preference for some brands over others. The expressions were genuine. Given I am not a reviewer, I did not have access to a plethora of products or did I ever claim to have a background in journalism to give a degree of credibility of my posts.

If advertising were to be part of this website as a legitimate post, I would have to doubt any integrity that I ever had.